The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday issued an administrative stay, allowing President Donald Trump's administration to proceed with construction on the controversial White House ballroom project. Chief Justice John Roberts granted the temporary order, which pauses a federal district court judge's injunction that would have halted most development, pending further review by the full court. The project, estimated to cost $400 million, had previously been ruled by lower courts to require congressional approval.
The project involves the demolition of the White House East Wing in 2025 to make way for a 90,000 square-foot ballroom. The administration has emphasized national security concerns in defending the project, claiming it includes upgrades such as a "drone-proof" ceiling, blast-proof glass, bomb shelters, and missile-resistant columns, alongside "top secret military facilities." Justice Department lawyers argued that the project was 65% complete and proceeding "ahead of schedule and under budget," with a 250-person crew working 20 hours a day, seven days a week.
Legal challenges against the ballroom project were initiated by the National Trust for Historic Preservation in December, arguing that the administration failed to obtain necessary authorizations and reviews. While a federal district court judge had allowed underground construction of security features to continue, he temporarily prohibited most above-ground work. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed this ruling, giving the government 14 days to appeal to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court's administrative stay does not resolve the underlying legal dispute but permits construction to continue while the justices consider the administration's formal request to keep the project going. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., criticized the Supreme Court's decision, calling it a "rubber stamping" of "Trump's vanity-driven, gilded corruption" and vowing to continue fighting the project in the courts.
