LIVE SCOTUS allows Trump’s White House ballroom construction to continue

Live updates: SCOTUS allows Trump's White House ballroom construction to continue.

Key points

• A divided Supreme Court on Monday allowed the White House to continue construction on a $400 million ballroom project as lawsuits play out.
• Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is stepping down after 18 months on the job, White House notes.
• JUST IN: Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is stepping down, the White House notes, in the latest departure of a top military leader.
• Business control of up to 65 billion barrels of the South American country's oil reserves, at cost.
• Trump notes he wants Congress to create federal tax incentives to promote making television and movies in the United States.

Follow the latest news on President Donald Trump and his administration Aug. 31, 2026.

Edited By BRIDGET BROWN, MICHAEL WARREN, LUENA RODRIGUEZ-FEO VILEIRA, NELL CLARK and LISA MARIE PANE. Here's what we're after.

Meanwhile, a divided Supreme Court on Monday allowed the White House to continue construction on a $400 million ballroom project as lawsuits play out. The decision replaces a temporary order from Chief Justice John Roberts previously issued hours before a lower-court decision halting the work would have gone into effect. The lawsuit will return to lower courts, but documents say that key portions of the project could be complete within months – a quick timeline compared with a typical legal case.

Venezuelans are expressing outrage and the oil industry is waiting for details on President Donald Trump's announcement that Venezuela's acting president has agreed to offer an unnamed U.S. Business control of up to 65 billion barrels of the South American country's oil reserves, at cost. Trump called it "THE BIGGEST OIL DEAL IN WORLD HISTORY!" but critics say U.S. Consumers won't benefit for plenty of years.

Global crude rates are rising again after renewed warfare between the U.S. And Iran, the first significant military action in a month. The global energy supply shock has, for the first time, kept the average cost Americans pay at the pump above $4 throughout August, according to the AAA – the most expensive August at the pump on record. On Sunday, U.S. Forces struck Iranian rocket launchers on the Strait of Hormuz, and the United Arab Emirates remarked it intercepted an Iranian drone over its waters on Monday.

Trump wants bipartisan push to incentivize TV, movie industry.

According to Trump in a social media post, the idea of a tax incentive has been called on by actor Jon Voight and others in the industry. The president notes that too much of the industry's work has shifted to Canada and elsewhere.

Trump created the case for tax incentives without offering details on how it would work, but argued that the "amount of money spent on Tax Incentives will be made up tenfold by the money pouring into the Treasury's coffers."

"Meetings are being set up with the Leaders of both Parties in order to get this done, " Trump continued. "It should be Bipartisan, especially since so much money is being lost in California, and other largely Blue States."

Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is stepping down after 18 months on the job, White House notes. By BEN FINLEY, AAMER MADHANI.

Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is stepping down after 18 months on the job, the White House remarked Monday, in the latest departure of a top military leader during the Trump administration.

No reason was given for the departure of Driscoll. This person is a friend of Vice President JD Vance, but tensions with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have been widely documented. It marks the latest in a series of shakeups of top military leadership, with the Army especially seeing major upheaval.

"Secretary Driscoll has been highly effective in advancing President Trump's agenda to Make America Strong Again at the Department of the Army by providing outstanding leadership during historic military operations, restoring an emphasis on readiness and lethality, assisting with negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, and more, " White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly remarked in an official note.

JUST IN: Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is stepping down, the White House notes, in the latest departure of a top military leader. SCOTUS appeal filed in Michigan ballot dispute.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is being asked to intervene in a dispute over whether a proof-of-citizenship voting measure can appear on the ballot in Michigan.

Supporters filed an emergency appeal Monday after state authorities declined to certify the proposal for the ballot after a contentious signature validation process. Backers turned in more than 700, 000 signatures in March.

If passed, the initiative would require the secretary of state to review driver's license records and other data to determine if registered voters are citizens. Voters who are flagged would be removed from the voter rolls if they cannot provide proof of citizenship.

For context, the Michigan initiative comes as Republicans in a number of states move forward with similar measures even as the U.S. Senate remains deadlocked over Trump's call for strict citizenship voting requirements. Brazil notes negotiations have restarted on US imposed tariffs.

Brazilian and American authorities restarted negotiations on Monday over U.S. Tariffs of up to 37.5% on Brazilian exports. The session between Brazilian ministers and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer followed discussions between Trump and Brazil President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silv.

Though it considers the U.S. Imposed tariffs incompatible with trade rules, highlighting a $424 billion U.S. Trade surplus with Brazil over 15 years, brazil's administration stated in an official note it is open to dialogue.

Lula's administration views the sanctions as political backing for rival Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro ahead of October's elections. The statement did not clarify whether Brazil will invoke its retribution law.

In short, lIVE  SCOTUS allows Trump's White House ballroom construction to continue is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.