BREAKING: Supreme Court allows White House ballroom construction to continue

Roberts issued an administrative stay which reads: "It is ordered that the preliminary injunction entered on April 16, 2026, by the United States District Court for the District of Columbia... is hereby stayed pending further order of the undersigned or of the court." It is not clear what further action, if any, the high court intends to take.

Trump praised the decision, saying "we are grateful for the Decision of the United States Supreme Court. the Military/Ballroom Complex being built on the hallowed grounds of the White House, which is so vital for National Security, will be THE GREATEST OF ITS KIND! It is something that Presidents have wantd for 150 years, and that the Military has been seeking for the last 100 years. Their wish will soon be fulfilled! Construction is under budget and ahead of schedule."

Lower courts have claimed that the ballroom, designed and built under President Donald Trump's supervision, is not permitted because Congress has not given authorization. Trump has said that the project is not using taxpayer funds for construction, which is expected to cost about $400 million.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation also got into the act, saying that presidents do not have authority to make these kinds of substantive changes to the White House. Every president has made some changes, great or small, to the structure that came into use as a presidential residence under America's second president, John Adams.

Solicitor General D. John Sauer brought the ask to continue building to the Supreme Court in hopes of vacating the lower court's order. He said that the renovations being done to that section of the White House, which will result in a ballroom as well as national security features and a bomb shelter, are "absolutely required and should not be enjoined."

Sauer noted in his argument that there have been numerous threats made to the president's life, both on the campaign trail and since he took office in January 2025. At this point, the ballroom is already "65% complete," Sauer said, and it's "moving quickly toward total completion."

That work is being undertaken by a 250-person crew working 20-hour days seven days per week. The structure is five stories deep into the ground beneath the White House, 70 feet high, and 90,000 square feet. While the project will be completed before Trump completes his second and final term, the benefits of the ballroom, Trump has said, will primarily be for future leaders of the free world.