Preservationist group urges Supreme Court to stop Trump ballroom creation
A preservationist group is legally challenging the Trump governance over the white House ballroom renovation project, urging the Supreme Court to uphold an order that would halt construction starting this Friday. The group, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, sued last year, with courts initially siding to stop the project.The administration filed an emergency petition to the Supreme Court to allow construction to continue, arguing that national security concerns-specifically an “integrated military complex”-justify ongoing work. The preservationists argue that only Congress has the authority to approve such construction on federal property and accuse the administration of trying to bypass judicial review by rushing the work. They contend that the administration accelerated construction during the legal proceedings to avoid stopping the project, which they assert lacked congressional approval. The Supreme Court’s decision is pending, with no current timeline, but a ruling is expected before the Friday deadline. The project has faced significant opposition from Democrats and activists, while the Trump administration maintains it as a necesary upgrade for the White House.
A preservationist group suing the Trump administration over the White House ballroom project urged the Supreme Court on Tuesday to maintain an order that would halt construction on the project beginning on Friday.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation sued the Trump administration last year to stop construction, and both a federal district court and a federal appeals court sided with the group. The ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ordered construction on the East Wing renovations, including the ballroom, to stop on Friday, leading the administration to file an emergency petition last week to the Supreme Court. The preservationist group filed its response to the petition on Tuesday, urging the high court to keep in place the 2-1 D.C. Circuit ruling, which called on the administration to get permission from Congress to continue construction.
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“In the end, the question is not ‘whether the proposed ballroom is desirable, or not, as a matter of policy.’ Nor is it even whether Petitioners may ultimately construct the ballroom. The question is simply who decides whether a ballroom can be built on federal property. Our constitutional system and federal law commits that choice to Congress,” the preservationist group’s brief reads.
“If Petitioners believe there is a pressing need for a ballroom, nothing prevents them from asking Congress for one—today, tomorrow, or any time in the future,” the group’s filing to the Supreme Court continued. “But Petitioners’ efforts to foil judicial review and arrogate Congress’s exclusive powers should not be rewarded with a stay that allows Petitioners to complete a ballroom they lacked any authority to commence in the first place.”
The response from the National Trust for Historic Preservation also accused the Trump administration of trying to run out the clock on the lawsuit by speeding up construction on the project, which the preservationist group alleges is illegal.
“Rather than obtain permission from Congress, Petitioners have instead decided to try to outrun judicial review,” the group’s response said. “When the district court first enjoined ballroom construction in March 2026, above-ground work had not even begun. It took the D.C. Circuit only four months to affirm the district court’s injunction—after highly expedited appellate proceedings during which the injunction was administratively stayed due largely to Petitioners’ assertions of emergency.
“While the D.C. Circuit deliberated, Petitioners accelerated construction, with a 250-person crew ‘working 20 hours a day, 7 days a week,’ in an effort to put their illegal ballroom ‘beyond … judicial intervention’ for good,” the group’s filing reads.
The Department of Justice based their rationale for why the Supreme Court should allow obstruction to continue on national security concerns. Solicitor General D. John Sauer said in his petition to the high court last week that the project included an “integrated military complex” that is “vitally required by national security.”
“If allowed to go into effect, the injunction would wrongfully install a single district judge as sole arbiter of what further construction is ‘strictly necessary’ to protect the safety of the President, his family, staff members, and visitors to the White House, including foreign dignitaries, and presidents and prime ministers of other countries,” Sauer said, citing the various assassination attempts against President Donald Trump.
TRUMP ASKS SUPREME COURT TO ALLOW WHITE HOUSE BALLROOM CONSTRUCTION TO CONTINUE
The Supreme Court does not have a timeline for ruling on the emergency petition from the DOJ, but with the D.C. Circuit’s order set to take effect on Friday, a decision is expected by then.
Trump’s proposed ballroom project has been met with uproar from Democrats and left-wing activists since it was announced last year, as the president has continued to champion the project as a necessary upgrade for the White House complex. The preservationist group’s lawsuit is the main effort to stop the project.
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