The U.S. Supreme Court has allowed President Donald Trump to continue building a large ballroom at the White House, at least for now. The order pauses an appeals court ruling that would have stopped most of the construction.
Danish broadcaster DR reports that the justices have put the appeals court order on hold. The news agency Reuters first reported the decision, according to DR.
The Supreme Court’s move is only a postponement, DR notes. It gives the justices more time to decide what should happen with the project, so the legal fight continues.
The appeals court had held that work could only proceed if Congress approved the project. As Reuters reported, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled 2 to 1 on August 7, 2026. The majority wrote that each president is a temporary tenant, not the owner, of the White House.
According to AP, the appeals court stayed its own order for 14 days so the administration could appeal. That deadline fell on August 21, 2026. The ballroom is planned at 90,000 square feet, or about 8,400 square meters, AP reported.
DR states that the hall is designed for 1,000 guests. Reuters puts the price at $400 million and reported that the administration asked the Supreme Court for emergency relief on August 14, 2026.
The East Wing of the White House was torn down in late October 2025 to make room for the ballroom and related facilities. Politico reported that demolition crews acted abruptly, before approvals from oversight bodies or Congress were secured.
How the case reached the Supreme Court
The dispute began when the National Trust for Historic Preservation sued in December 2025, according to Reuters. The group argued that Trump exceeded his authority by demolishing the historic East Wing without congressional authorization.
U.S. District Judge Richard Leon halted the project on March 31, 2026, Reuters reported. He wrote that construction had to stop unless and until Congress blessed the project through statutory authorization. His order was paused for 14 days so the government could appeal.
A three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit then suspended that injunction on April 17, 2026, per Reuters. Construction was allowed to continue while the appeal was considered, until the August 7 ruling.
Trump’s lawyers argue that the ballroom is necessary for national security. They describe it as part of a larger integrated military complex now being built where the East Wing stood, DR reports. The lawyers point to assassination attempts against Trump and other recent threats.
CNN reported that the site is now a very large hole in the ground. The injunction blocked above-ground construction but allowed below-ground work on a security bunker to continue.
