The US Supreme Court has permitted the continuation of construction on a large ballroom at the White House, marking a temporary win for President Donald Trump regarding one of his favored renovation projects. This decision was announced on Friday, allowing work to advance despite previous legal challenges that sought to halt the project.
Chief Justice John Roberts temporarily lifted a lower court ruling that had demanded a halt to the building of the controversial ballroom by midnight on Friday. Roberts’s one-sentence order means that work on the ballroom, which has been challenged by historical preservation groups, may proceed while litigation plays out in the lower courts. The Trump administration asked the conservative-dominated Supreme Court last week to allow it to finish building the ballroom and an underground bunker at the White House, saying the project was essential for national security. A district court ordered a halt to work on the aboveground ballroom while allowing construction of the underground military bunker to proceed, but that order had been stayed while on appeal.
Trump, in a post on Truth Social, said he was “grateful” for the Supreme Court decision.
Trump ordered the demolition of the entire historic East Wing of the White House last year — without input from Congress — to make way for his long-desired ballroom, but the project was quickly challenged in court.
