US Supreme Court allows Trump ballroom project to proceed for now

The US Supreme Court has allowed Donald Trump’s administration to continue construction of a $400 million ballroom at the White House, temporarily lifting a lower-court order that had halted the project.

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This Court has not found standing in circumstances like these before. To the contrary, we have repeatedly held that mere offense, disagreement, or distaste does not qualify as a concrete and particularized injury.

Five of the court’s six conservative justices said the plaintiffs likely lacked the legal standing to bring the case. “This Court has not found standing in circumstances like these before,” they wrote, adding that “mere offense, disagreement, or distaste does not qualify as a concrete and particularized injury” under the US Constitution.

Chief Justice John Roberts joined the court’s three liberal-leaning justices in dissent. Roberts called the construction “likely unlawful” because Congress had not approved it and wrote, “Today’s decision is no victory for the separation of powers.”

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Perhaps nearly any government action or project offends someone's sensibilities.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation brought the case after the East Wing was demolished and work began on a 90,000-square-foot ballroom. Lower courts had ruled that construction should stop because it lacked congressional approval.

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Today’s decision is no victory for the separation of powers.

Trump welcomed the ruling on Truth Social, saying, “I am pleased to report that the United States Supreme Court has just ruled in favor of the Ballroom/Military Complex being built without any further contingency, doubt, or threat.” He called the project one of the greatest buildings ever constructed in Washington, D.C. Justice Department lawyers had argued that a secure ballroom was needed, citing a missile threat involving Air Force One and recent assassination attempts.

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I am pleased to report that the United States Supreme Court has just ruled in favor of the Ballroom/Military Complex being built without any further contingency, doubt, or threat.