08/31/2026
The Supreme Court ruled Monday, in a 5-4 decision, that President Trump can continue building his new White House ballroom indefinitely, blocking lower court rulings that had put the above-ground portion of the project on hold.
The ruling caps months of legal back-and-forth. It began when a federal district judge sided with the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which sued arguing Trump needed congressional approval before demolishing the White House's East Wing and building the ballroom, a project the administration says is privately funded and now estimated at $300–400 million. Court filings show that as of mid-August, construction was already 65% complete, with a 250-person crew working 20-hour days, seven days a week. Trump celebrated the ruling on Truth Social, calling the project the "greatest of its kind" and framing it as vital to national security.
What stands out is that Chief Justice Roberts, who had personally issued the earlier temporary stay keeping construction alive on August 21, broke with the majority this time. He joined the court's three liberal justices in dissent, writing that the construction is "likely unlawful" even as it has proceeded for close to a year. Part of the underlying case also turns on a narrower legal question of standing, resting on a trust board member's claim that she'd suffer aesthetic and professional harm from the ballroom as designed. Polling earlier this year found a majority of Americans disapproved of tearing down the East Wing for the project.
