Updated August 31, 2026 at 5:27 PM EDT
The Supreme Court again ruled that President Trump can move forward with construction of his ballroom on the site of the former East Wing of the White House without needing approval from Congress.
The Supreme Court did not address the underlying issue - whether the demolition of the East Wing and construction of a new ballroom is legal.
Rather the court majority says the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the group that filed the suit, likely hasn't suffered a concrete injury that would allow it to sue to stop the project.
The new ballroom is estimated to cost taxpayers at least $300 million, despite the president saying repeatedly that taxpayers would not foot the bill.
The ruling comes after months of back-and-forth between the Trump administration and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The nonprofit organization has argued that the president must get approval from Congress to build over the East Wing, the side that held offices for the first lady.
Chief Justice John Roberts dissented along with the court's three liberal justices. Roberts wrote the construction is likely unlawful because Congress has not approved it.
This ruling follows another temporary one earlier this month that also allowed construction to continue.
The ballroom is expected to be a 90,000-square-foot addition to the White House and twice the size of the main part of the White House complex.
Trump has argued for months that the new ballroom is a necessity, often pointing to the lack of space to host events with foreign dignitaries. He has also said that the ballroom will house critical national security benefits, including bomb shelters, a hospital, sniper nests and a drone port.
In its brief filed earlier this month, the trust asserted that if the Supreme Court allowed construction to continue at this time, the court was effectively ending the case.
"Rather than obtain permission from Congress, Petitioners have instead decided to try to outrun judicial review" by accelerating construction. "It is clear that in Petitioners' view, if the Court grants their stay application, this case is over—despite every court to have reviewed their project having found it to be patently unlawful, and no matter the fact that this Court has not reviewed those decisions on the merits," the brief states.
Trump praised the initial decision on social media earlier this month, 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!"
The court proceedings started in March, when Republican-appointed federal Judge Richard Leon ruled against Trump on the ballroom, saying the construction needed to stop unless it was additions to the White House that involved safety and security. The ruling then went to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, which decided that construction could temporarily continue. Leon then clarified and said below-ground construction of the ballroom could continue but above-ground could not.
Trump responded on social media, writing, "It's all tied together as one big, expensive, and very complex unit, which is vital for National Security and Military Operations of the United States of America!"
The case then went back to the appeals court, but the Trump administration requested an emergency appeal with the Supreme Court.
Construction of the ballroom began last July and has involved closing off access to the north side of the White House and Lafayette Park, which were previously open to the public. Polling shows the project, along with many of Trump's other efforts to remake the capital city, are unpopular among voters.
An April poll from Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos showed 56% of Americans did not approve of Trump's decision to tear down the East Wing and build the ballroom.
NPR's Emily Feng contributed reporting from Washington.
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