US Supreme Court clears way for Trump to keep building White House ballroom

31 August 2026, 21: 28 BST. Updated 2 minutes ago.

Key points

• The National Trust for Historic Preservation filed the legal challenge, arguing that the president did not have unilateral authority to proceed with construction.
• Trump demolished the historic East Wing of the executive residence last autumn to commence building the ballroom.
• On Friday, the high court had temporarily allowed construction of the White House ballroom to move forward.
• According to The dissenting justices, congress "has explicitly prohibited" the construction of any building or structure on federal grounds in the capital "without express authority of Congress".
• Chief Justice John Roberts issued a stay, allowing the ballroom project.

For context, the US Supreme Court has ruled that construction of a $400m (£297m) ballroom at the White House can go ahead, handing a win to President Donald Trump.

In a 5-4 ruling, the justices granted the Trump administration's emergency request, blocking lower court rulings that would have halted construction of an above-ground portion of the project.

For context, the National Trust for Historic Preservation filed the legal challenge, arguing that the president did not have unilateral authority to proceed with construction.

Chief Justice John Roberts issued a stay, allowing the ballroom project. It includes a military complex, to continue while the high court considered the lawsuit aiming to halt it entirely.

On Monday, it was Roberts, a conservative. This person sided with the three dissenting liberal justices to write that "construction is likely unlawful".

They continued that the legislative branch had "not passed any law resembling 'express authority' for the Executive's construction of it".

For now, US Supreme Court clears way for Trump to keep building White House remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.