Trump Administration Seeks Supreme Court Stay on White House Ballroom Halt
Select a version of the text written from a presumed ideological perspective. This is not the original text, but a hypothetical version — how someone with that viewpoint might have phrased it. Tapping the current version again will return to the original or select cleaned version.
The White House asked the Supreme Court to suspend a lower-court order that stopped construction of a $400 million ballroom, arguing the project is essential for security and should be decided by the President.
The Trump administration filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday requesting a stay of a three-judge panel’s order that halted construction of a $400 million ballroom at the White House’s East Wing. The petition, submitted by Solicitor General D. John Sauer, seeks to keep the work proceeding while the administration appeals the lower-court ruling, which is set to take effect on Aug. 21.
The D.C. Circuit panel ruled that the president lacks unilateral authority to build the 90,000-square-foot ballroom without congressional approval, siding with historic preservationists who sued to stop the project. The majority opinion stated that decisions of this magnitude belong to Congress, not executive self-help. A dissenting judge argued that the preservationists lacked standing to sue.
In his brief, Sauer described the injunction as “extraordinary and unlawful” and said it would impede a “totally secure ballroom space” deemed vital for national security. The administration also contended that the National Trust for Historic Preservation does not have legal standing to challenge the project and that the injunction would cause “chaos.”
The Justice Department has argued that the president has broad authority over renovations of iconic public facilities, suggesting that security considerations justify continuing the work. The lower court had previously allowed a two-week pause to give the administration time to appeal, and it noted that the construction site is currently about 65% complete.