Trump Administration Asks Supreme Court to Allow White House Ballroom Construction During Appeal

The Trump administration is seeking the U.S. Supreme Court's intervention to resume construction on a $400 million ballroom project at the White House. This move comes after a lower court ordered a halt to the work, a decision the administration is appealing.

A three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued a divided ruling last week, stating that President Trump does not possess the unilateral authority to construct the 90,000-square-foot ballroom. The panel's majority determined that Congress must approve such projects. The court had temporarily suspended its own ruling for two weeks to allow the administration time to pursue an appeal to the Supreme Court.

The administration's solicitor general has formally petitioned the high court, urging it to rule on the stay request before the appeals court's decision takes effect on August 21. In the petition, the solicitor general described the injunction as "extraordinary and unlawful," asserting that it will halt the construction of an "integrated military complex, including a totally secure ballroom space, at the East Wing of the White House, which is vitally required by national security."

The lower court's 2-1 decision favored historic preservationists who had filed a lawsuit to block the ballroom's construction. The East Wing of the White House was demolished last fall to make way for the new facility.

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This case involves an extraordinary and unlawful injunction that will halt the ongoing construction of the integrated military complex, including a totally secure ballroom space, at the East Wing of the White House, which is vitally required by national security.