White House says Supreme Court temporarily allows Trump ballroom construction to continue

The U.S. Supreme Court has allowed construction of Donald Trump’s planned White House ballroom to continue, even as lower courts consider whether the project required congressional approval.

Five conservative justices formed the majority in the decision. The court emphasized that it had not ruled on the legality of the construction itself. It also indicated that the administration would likely be able to argue that the National Trust for Historic Preservation had not shown that the project would directly harm it and therefore lacked standing to bring the case.

The three liberal justices and conservative Chief Justice John Roberts dissented. The ruling replaced a temporary order issued by Roberts, but the broader dispute will continue in lower courts. Federal courts had previously halted the work, finding that Congress’s approval might be required.

The timing of the construction has become a central point of tension. Court filings say the structural shell could be finished in November and much of the facade by April, potentially before the legal proceedings normally conclude. The National Trust argues that Trump cannot carry out the project on his own and has criticized the pace of construction. The White House’s East Wing has already been demolished as part of the work.

The administration says the president has full authority to remodel the White House and other federal buildings. Government lawyers have also cited national security as a reason for the ballroom, although Trump did not initially emphasize that argument when announcing the privately funded project. Crews are reportedly working 20 hours a day on the roughly 8,400-square-meter ballroom. Full completion is scheduled for August 2028, at an estimated cost of $400 million.