Supreme Court Lets White House Ballroom Construction Continue in 5-4 Ruling

The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 on Monday to let President Donald Trump’s White House ballroom project move forward, setting aside lower-court orders that had barred construction of the above-ground portion while a lawsuit proceeds. The decision came in an unsigned opinion on an emergency request from the administration, NBC News and CBS News reported.

The majority did not decide whether the project is lawful. It said the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which sued, likely lacks standing to bring the case. “Today, we do not pass upon the legality of the government’s East Wing project,” the majority wrote, according to CBS. NBC reported that the Court said it had never recognized standing in a situation like this one, and that “mere offense, disagreement, or distaste does not qualify as a concrete and particularized injury.” CBS added that the majority said the lower-court judges likely exceeded their authority, and cited sworn declarations from the Director of National Intelligence and the heads of the Secret Service, Army and State Department that the ballroom is needed for national security and that a significant pause would harm the government.

Chief Justice John Roberts dissented, joined by Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson. He wrote that the construction is “likely unlawful” because Congress has not authorized it, and he would have found that Trust member Alison Hoagland, a Washington preservationist, has enough of an injury to sue. “Today’s decision is no victory for the separation of powers,” Roberts wrote, per CBS. Roberts had issued a temporary order on Aug. 21 that kept work going while the Court considered the request.

The Trust argued that a federal law requires “express authority of Congress” for building on federal land in Washington. The administration responded that other provisions let the president make improvements on White House grounds, NBC reported. A federal judge allowed underground work to continue but barred construction of the ballroom itself, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upheld that order on Aug. 7.

The administration told the courts that construction was 65 percent complete as of Aug. 24 and that the crew works 20 hours a day, seven days a week, NBC reported. According to CBS, the White House expects the superstructure to be substantially complete by November and the full project finished by August 2028. The White House says the $400 million project is privately funded. CBS cited a White House official’s declaration that $335 million of the expected $400 million has been raised; NBC noted that the claim of private funding has been widely disputed and that Secret Service funds have been directed to some security upgrades.

Trump responded on Truth Social, writing “We are living in the Golden Age of America” and that the ballroom will be completed in the summer of 2028. Brent Leggs, the Trust’s president, said the group was “deeply disappointed” and disagreed with the standing holding. He said the ruling is not the final decision on the merits of the case.