SCOTUS greenlights White House ballroom construction, despite chief justice's dissent
Chief Justice John Roberts called the construction "likely unlawful."
The Supreme Court has formally granted the Trump administration's request to move forward with construction of the White House East Wing ballroom project as litigation continues, all but guaranteeing the building will be substantially completed before any final judgments and appeals are resolved.
Notably, Chief Justice John Roberts joined the court's three liberal justices in dissenting, writing the ruling is "no victory for the separation of powers" and allows the "likely" infringement on Congress's power to continue.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation sued to block the construction of the ballroom project, arguing that only Congress has the authority to approve substantial changes to the White House, and that it never delegated that authority to President Donald Trump.
President Donald Trump unilaterally initiated demolition of the White House East Wing in late 2025 to make way for the ballroom.
The court's majority wrote in an unsigned opinion Monday that the Trust likely lacked standing to bring the suit to begin with and that the government has established it would be irreparably harmed by being blocked from above-ground construction as the case played out.
"Today, we do not pass upon the legality of the government’s East Wing project. We conclude only that, based on the submissions before us, the government is likely to prevail in showing that the Trust lacks Article III standing to challenge the project in federal court and that the remaining stay factors favor relief," the court wrote.
The decision effectively preserves the status quo. The Trump administration had told the court that a crew of 250 workers has been working around the clock to finish the 90,000-square-foot structure and that it is 65% complete and work will continue.
Trump is taking a victory lap over the Supreme Court’s opinion, writing on his social media platform Monday, “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. We are living in the Golden Age of America, and this Building will be one of the Greatest ever constructed in Washington, D.C.”
Trump once again slammed the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s lawsuit against the construction of the ballroom, calling it “baseless.”
“The Ballroom is totally funded by Great Patriots and Corporations and, therefore, is a Gift — At no cost to the American Taxpayer,” Trump claimed, though questions continue to swirl around where such funding is coming from.
Federal law gives Congress control over federal property, including the White House grounds, but has also long allowed presidents to undertake the "care, maintenance, repair, alteration, refurbishment, and improvement ... of the Executive Residence."
In the dissent, joined by Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson, Roberts wrote: "The White House is not just any building, and -- when it comes to historic preservation -- Hoagland [member of National Trust for Historic Preservation] is not just any person. In failing to appreciate as much, the Court misconceives the plaintiff's injury, allowing the Executive’s likely infringement of the Legislature’s power of the purse and authority to regulate federal property in the District of Columbia to continue."
Roberts argued it would have been better to "ensure that those responsible follow the rules in deciding what to tear down and what to build up at the People’s House."
Earlier this month, Roberts had issued an administrative stay of a lower court order halting most above-ground construction on the White House ballroom project. The move allowed construction on the project to continue temporarily.
The lower court had ruled that Trump exceeded his authority in demolishing the East Wing and beginning to erect the structure without congressional approval. A divided appeals court earlier this month affirmed that finding.
Administration officials have estimated the entire project -- which Trump has called a "military complex" essential for national security -- could cost $400 million, while other independent analysts have put the true figure at much higher.