US Supreme Court Allows Trump’s White House Ballroom Construction to Continue

Donald Trump’s planned White House ballroom can keep rising for now, after the US Supreme Court intervened in a dispute that lower courts had used to halt the project.

The court’s conservative majority ruled by five votes to four that the government had a strong chance of defeating the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s challenge. The decision extends permission for construction to continue until further order. Chief Justice John Roberts had already paused an appeals court ruling on Aug. 21 while the justices considered arguments from both sides.

The majority stressed that it was not ruling on the project’s legality. “We do not rule today on the legality of the government’s project for the East Wing,” the decision said. Instead, the justices concluded that the government would probably show that the trust had no standing to bring the case in federal court.

The National Trust, a nonprofit organization authorized by Congress to preserve historic buildings, argues that the administration failed to meet legal requirements for public review and did not obtain congressional approval. A federal court ordered the reception hall’s construction halted in April, although it allowed work on an underground bunker to continue. An appeals court upheld that decision on Aug. 7, saying the White House project required explicit authorization from Congress.

Trump demolished an entire White House wing by bulldozer in October 2025 to make way for the ballroom, which is intended to hold up to 1,000 people at receptions and dinners for foreign dignitaries. He said private funds would finance the project, but US media have reported that its cost could reach $600 million and fall largely on taxpayers.

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We do not rule today on the legality of the government’s project for the East Wing.