Trump asks Supreme Court to bulldoze stop-work order on White House ballroom

WASHINGTON (CN) — President Donald Trump asked the Supreme Court on Friday to let him continue construction on the White House ballroom without congressional approval.In an emergency filing, the government pushed to lift a lower court pause on the project, citing national security concerns and judicial overreach.“This court should stay the injunction, which illustrates why district judges should not try to ‘seiz[e] control of construction at the president’s home and office’ and allow this vital project to continue — for the sake of the president’s safety, the continuity of government, and the separation of powers,” Solicitor General John Sauer wrote.Last year, Trump took unilateral action to demolish the East Wing of the White House, touting construction of a 90,000-square-foot structure to host VIP guests during large events. Trump pitched the project as a solution to the previously used “large and unsightly tent” typically erected on White House grounds for events like state dinners.The National Trust for Historic Preservation sued the administration in December 2025 to halt the project. The group, which was chartered by Congress in 1949 to facilitate public participation in the preservation of historical sites, claims the White House is abusing its authority under the National Park Service’s Organic Act and other federal statutes governing ordinary maintenance and repairs on the executive building.In response, the White House has stressed national security concerns necessitating the project, pointing to a massive military complex being built underneath the ballroom. The administration said these renovations include bomb shelters, medical facilities and other reinforcements to protect the president and other senior officials from threats ranging from drone strikes to chemical attacks.Under a “safety-and-security exception,” two lower courts ruled to allow continued construction on the bunker, while keeping the ballroom portion on hold during ongoing litigation.Last week, U.S. Circuit judges Patricia Millett and Bradley Garcia — a Barack Obama and Joe Biden appointee, respectively — stressed that Trump was a temporary resident of the White House, not its owner. They said no law gave the president unilateral authority to act on the project without express approval from Congress.Trump railed against the judges’ characterization, claiming the injunction created a needless conflict between the executive and judicial branches.“In upholding it, a D.C. Circuit majority wrongly viewed the president as a mere ‘tenant’ of the White House, with the district judge as his de facto landlord,” Sauer wrote. “The president of the United States of America is not a tenant, but rather the sole, elected head of the executive branch, and Congress has authorized him to renovate, secure, and protect the White House and its grounds, as other presidents have been allowed to do, without exception.”Trump’s East Wing ballroom project would be the biggest since renovations to address structural deficiencies to the White House while President Harry Truman was in office. Those changes — which included the now-famous South Portico balcony — were funded and authorized by Congress.In contrast, Trump says his project will be funded by $400 million in private donations. In July 2025, the White House estimated the project would cost $200 million dollars and be completely funded by private donors. Over the subsequent months, the price tag of the ballroom ballooned, ratcheting up to around $400 million by the president’s own estimates.But the total cost of the project could reach $600 million, according to records obtained by the Washington Post, that found taxpayers would foot over half of the bill. While the White House released a list of 37 donors who contributed to the project, the contributions — which were collected by the park service and transferred to the executive residence — have mostly been kept out of the public eye.Additional reporting revealed that Trump’s total White House construction costs, including construction of a helipad, new visitor screening area and upgrades to Lafayette Square, could exceed $900 million.The White House maintains that zero taxpayer dollars will be spent on the ballroom.In his filing at the Supreme Court, Trump boasts of the state-of-the-art facilities under construction, including top secret military structures, military-grade venting, sniper nests and a drone port.“The project will provide a ‘secure, state-of-the-art facility that provides for the physical protection of the president and the command, control, and communication capabilities necessary for the president to carry out’ his constitutional duties when under conventional or even nuclear attack,” Sauer wrote. “‘The materials used, both in concrete and steel (and even glass), are meant to stop bombs, rockets, missiles, and even nuclear blasts.’”According to the White House, the military complex will serve as a “safe room” for the presidency and continuity of government. Trump claims the concrete used in the project is “the hardest and strongest concrete there is, the type used in nuclear power plants — it is impermeable, and virtually impossible to deconstruct.”And Trump claims there would be no way to take down or alter the project if the court ordered him to do so.“The director for White House Management and Administration states: ‘[I]f work is stopped in line with the district court’s injunction, it will be a disaster,’” Sauer wrote. “Contractors will be left in limbo, and the existing building would risk dangerous instability. This ‘unfinished structure … inherently present[s] safety and security risks at the White House complex’ and ‘operational challenges’ to the Secret Service.”Trump is asking the Supreme Court for an immediate administrative stay blocking the injunction while the justices consider his application. The D.C. Circuit already paused enforcement of its order until Aug. 21, giving the high court a week to intervene before the injunction goes into effect.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads