The US Supreme Court on Friday, August 21, 2026, temporarily allowed President Donald Trump to continue construction of a massive ballroom at the White House. Chief Justice John Roberts' order stayed a lower court ruling that had required work to stop by midnight.
The order does not address the legality of the project itself. Two previous courts had already found that Trump is acting without Congressional approval. Instead, the justices gave themselves additional time to consider the administration's request for an indefinite stay of the adverse rulings.
Construction is proceeding at a rapid pace. According to data submitted to the court, a crew of 250 people is working at the site, laboring 20 hours a day, seven days a week. The complex is already 65 percent complete.
Trump called the future facility "the greatest military complex and ballroom in the world." On social media, he wrote that he was grateful for the court's decision and that "the desire of presidents for 150 years and the military for 100 years will soon be fulfilled."
The project prompted a lawsuit from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The organization secured a federal court injunction against work proceeding without Congressional authorization. The DC Circuit Court of Appeals upheld this decision in early August by a vote of 2:1 and ordered construction to halt as of August 21.
The administration insists the ballroom is necessary for national security reasons following attempts on the president's life. White House lawyers argue that the president is not a tenant but the head of the executive branch, and that Congress has already granted him the authority to renovate and protect the residence.
The National Trust, for its part, emphasizes that the injunction applies only to the ballroom, not the bunker beneath it. In their view, the administration is attempting to "outrun judicial oversight" by accelerating work that would later be impossible to reverse.
The project's cost is rising: initially, there was talk of 200 million dollars, then 300, and in August, Trump reported that nearly 400 million had already been spent. Other sources estimate the total cost of the White House complex renovation at 900 million.
