The decision replaces an interim order issued earlier this month.
Published August 31, 2026
A divided U.S. Supreme Court opinion allows the White House to continue construction on a $400 million ballroom project while litigation continues, a victory for President Donald Trump, wielding unprecedented executive power to remake the nation’s capital in his image.
The apparent 5-4 decision supersedes an interim order allowing construction earlier this month, just before a court-ordered halt went into effect.
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The interim order was signed by U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts, who was tasked with handling the appeal from the nation’s capital. But he publicly opposed this latest decision, writing a strong dissenting opinion citing historical figures and saying the project was “likely to be illegal” because it had not been approved by Congress.
“Today’s decision is not a victory for the separation of powers,” Roberts wrote. The court’s three liberal justices agreed.
The majority did not decide on the legality of the project, but found that the preservation group likely did not have the legal right to object to the project. The unsigned comment also cited the national security concerns the government said the project would address.
The case will return to lower courts, but documents indicate that major parts of the project could be completed within a few months, a shorter timeline than typical litigation.
The Trump administration asked the judges to intervene after a federal court ruled the project needed to be halted because it lacked congressional approval.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation’s lawsuit argued that President Trump did not have unilateral authority to undertake construction, including the demolition of the East Tower. Lawyers for the group accused the White House of trying to speed up construction and “get around the courts.”
The Trump administration has argued in lower courts that the president has full authority to renovate the White House and other federal buildings. Government lawyers have said the ballroom project must be completed due to national security concerns, but they were not the original focus when President Trump announced the project and said it would be funded by private donations.
“This lawsuit includes an unusual and unlawful injunction halting ongoing construction of the Joint Forces Complex in the East Wing of the White House, which includes fully secure banquet space that is critical to national security,” the lawyers said in an Aug. 14 filing.
The government said crews would be working 20 hours a day at the planned 8,400 square meter (90,000 square foot) banquet hall. The framework is expected to be completed in November, with most of the facade completed by April, with full completion scheduled for August 2028, according to court documents.
In April, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon ordered a halt to above-ground construction of the planned ballroom, but the order allowed work on the underground bunkers and military installations to continue. Mr. Leon was nominated by former Republican President George W. Bush.
The decision was suspended but later upheld by a divided appellate panel. Two judges appointed by Democratic presidents ruled that the project was for Congress to decide and “not a matter of executive self-help.” A third judge appointed by President Trump ruled that the preservation groups that objected to the project had no legal right to sue.
Attorney General D. John Sauer also made that argument to the judge, calling the decision to halt construction “unusual and illegal.” He said completing the project was “a national security imperative.”
The administration has won a series of other victories on the high court’s emergency docket, where the justices, after careful deliberation, have ruled against some of the president’s signature policies.
The demolished east wing housed the first lady’s office and the White House movie theater. It was originally built in 1902 during President Theodore Roosevelt and was significantly expanded in 1942 during President Franklin Roosevelt.
