Trump's White House ballroom construction gets another lifeline from SCOTUS amid heated legal fight
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Video Trump continues ballroom construction after Supreme Court win Fox News correspondent Lucas Tomlinson joins 'Fox News Sunday' to discuss President Donald Trump's continuation of ballroom construction after the Supreme Court's temporary order. Tomlinson also discusses the Freedom 250 Grand Prix race in Washington, D.C., and the president's economic campaign against the Iranian regime.
The Supreme Court has again sided with the Trump administration, allowing construction on the White House ballroom project to continue while the case continues to be litigated in the lower courts.
The court split 5-4 in granting the emergency request. The decision replaces a temporary order Chief Justice John Roberts issued just hours before a lower-court ruling blocking the work was set to take effect. The underlying litigation will continue in the lower courts, but court documents indicate key parts of the project could be completed within months, potentially outpacing the legal process.
Trump quickly celebrated the decision, declaring that the high court had cleared the way for the massive project to move forward "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 wrote in a Truth Social post.
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A view of ongoing construction of the East Wing ballroom at the White House, as seen from the Washington Monument observation deck in Washington, DC on August 28, 2026. (Aaron Schwartz / AFP via Getty Images)
Trump said the "magnificent Ballroom and Military Complex" is expected to be completed in summer 2028 and predicted it will be "something that the entire Country is very proud of."
He also took a swipe at the National Trust for Historic Preservation, blasting its legal challenge as a "baseless lawsuit" and claiming the project is both under budget and ahead of schedule.
"The Ballroom is totally funded by Great Patriots and Corporations and, therefore, is a Gift — At no cost to the American Taxpayer," Trump wrote.
The president’s victory lap came as Chief Justice John Roberts issued a strongly worded dissent from the latest order, declaring that construction of the ballroom is "likely unlawful" and warning that allowing the project to proceed risks infringing on Congress’ constitutional powers.
"The President ordered the demolition of the East Wing of the White House to make way for a new, privately funded state ballroom in its place," Roberts wrote. "Construction of the ballroom has proceeded apace for the better part of a year."
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"That construction is likely unlawful," he wrote.
Roberts pointed to federal law that prohibits the construction of any "building or structure" on federal government parkland in Washington, D.C., without express authorization from Congress.
The chief justice argued that the ballroom falls squarely within that restriction because it is being built on President’s Park , federal land that encompasses the White House and surrounding grounds.
"The ballroom is a building or structure being erected on federal park grounds—President’s Park—in the District of Columbia," Roberts wrote. "Yet Congress has not passed any law resembling ‘express authority’ for the Executive’s construction of it."
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Construction on the new White House ballroom is seen from the Washington Monument, Monday, April 20, 2026, in Washington. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP Photo)
The Supreme Court’s decision allows construction to continue while the underlying legal challenge plays out, but it does not settle the ultimate question of whether the ballroom project is lawful.
The case remains in litigation in the lower courts, meaning Roberts’ assertion that the construction is "likely unlawful" represents his view in dissent rather than a final determination by the Supreme Court.
Heavy machinery tears down a section of the East Wing of the White House as construction begins on President Donald Trump's planned ballroom on October 22, 2025. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images)
Roberts also took issue with the court’s treatment of Alison Hoagland, who originally challenged the project, arguing that both the historic nature of the White House and her interest in its preservation deserved greater weight.
"The White House is not just any building, and—when it comes to historic preservation—Hoagland is not just any person," Roberts wrote.
An excavator works to clear rubble after the East Wing of the White House was demolished on Oct. 23, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Eric Lee/Getty Images)
"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," he wrote.
"Today’s decision is no victory for the separation of powers."
Roberts closed his dissent by invoking former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and issuing a pointed warning about how decisions involving the White House are made.
"Winston Churchill once remarked that ‘[w]e shape our buildings, and afterwards our buildings shape us,’" Roberts wrote.
"All the more reason to ensure that those responsible follow the rules in deciding what to tear down and what to build up at the People’s House."
In addition to Roberts, Justices Sotomayor, Kagan and Jackson also dissented.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Stepheny Price is a Writer at Fox News with a focus on West Coast and Midwest news, missing persons, national and international crime stories, homicide cases, and border security.
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