The building is expected to be done by 2028.
By Catholics for Catholics
The White House ballroom lives on.
On Monday, the Supreme Court allowed President Trump to go ahead with plans to construct the White House ballroom.
The 5-4 ruling is probably the final word on the project, which can now move forward with above-ground work after it was stopped while the case played out in court, according to a story by Axios.
The majority decision noted that the justices did “not pass upon the legality of the government’s East Wing project.”
The approving judges decided only that, based on the submissions before the court, “the government is likely to prevail” in showing that the National Trust for Historic Preservation “lacks standing” to challenge the project in federal court “and that the remaining stay factors favor relief.”
Still, the dissenting justices were Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson.
In his dissenting opinion, Roberts wrote that construction was “likely unlawful.”
Monday’s decision comes after an interim Supreme Court order earlier this month stopped a D.C. federal court’s halt on all construction while the justices considered Trump’s request to keep the project moving.
Trump said in a Truth Social post that he was pleased the Supreme Court had ruled in favor of the complex being built “without any further contingency, doubt, or threat,” adding: “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 called the lawsuit “baseless” and said the complex would make the country proud when it is completed in summer 2028.
But the National Trust for Historic Preservation CEO Brent Leggs said the group was “deeply disappointed” with the ruling and “respectfully disagree[s]” with the majority’s opinion on standing.
🔻
— Mr. Pool (@MrPool_QQ) August 31, 2026
THE SUPREME COURT JUST RULED. 5-4. THE BALLROOM CAN CONTINUE.
But here is what they are not telling you.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation did not file the lawsuit to protect history. They filed it to hide something.
Something beneath the East Wing. Something… pic.twitter.com/TzgcOr99AV
“It is noteworthy that the majority did not weigh in on whether the ballroom project was in fact legal,” Leggs said in a statement.
The trust said it would continue pursuing its case and urged the Supreme Court to quickly consider the government’s forthcoming petition.
The ballroom and its underground bunker are estimated to cost at least $600 million, up from the initial $400 million price tag when the administration announced its plans.
Trump has said private donors would fund the ballroom, but his administration has asked Congress to use taxpayer dollars for security upgrades for it and other areas of the White House complex.
About $352 million in taxpayer dollars was redirected to the project in June from money allocated through the One Big, Beautiful Bill.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with additional details throughout.
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