The Supreme Court authorizes Trump to proceed with his White House ballroom project

Chief Justice John Roberts on Friday signed a temporary order allowing the controversial $400 million White House renovation to continue, suspending a lower court ruling that should have halted the work that same day.

Donald Trump 's ballroom project at the White House can continue, at least for the time being. The U.S. Supreme Court granted a temporary stay on Friday of the injunction that was intended to halt construction, while the court considers the emergency appeal filed by the Trump administration. Chief Justice John Roberts, who presides over appeals from the Washington, D.C., area, signed the order.

Lower courts had ordered a halt to construction, ruling that a project of this scale required congressional approval. In April, Federal Judge Richard Leon, appointed during George W. Bush's presidency, prohibited above-ground construction, noting that the president "does not own" the White House. Earlier this month, a majority of judges on an appeals court upheld that injunction, stating that "the question of whether a massive ballroom should be built is a matter for Congress and not a unilateral initiative of the executive branch."

Trump's ambition to equip the White House with a large reception hall dates back to 2010, when he approached the Obama administration about it. Since his return to the presidency in 2025, he has accelerated the pace. In October, his administration demolished the century-old East Wing of the building without public notice to clear the necessary space. The future structure is expected to cover approximately 8,400 square meters, a significantly larger area than the main White House building.

The administration maintains that 65% of the work is already complete. Teams are operating 20 hours a day, seven days a week, according to documents filed by the Justice Department. Approximately $200 million in private donations have been spent or committed, these same documents state. Trump initially promised entirely private funding, but public funds were also solicited, a point his critics were quick to emphasize.

While the administration now cites national security imperatives to justify the urgency of the renovations, its initial arguments focused primarily on the lack of space for hosting state dinners. Beneath the ballroom, a multi-level bunker is slated to house a hospital and military facilities, work that Judge Leon had authorized to proceed on the grounds of security.

The legal proceedings were initiated in December by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which is challenging the president's right to unilaterally undertake such work. The trust's lawyers accused the White House of seeking to "preempt the courts" by deliberately accelerating the project despite court orders. The Supreme Court, six of whose nine members were appointed by Republican presidents, must now rule on the merits of the administration's emergency appeal.