The Trump administration on Friday filed an emergency application with the U.S. Supreme Court seeking permission to continue construction of a new ballroom complex at the White House, following lower-court rulings that the project requires explicit congressional authorization.
Solicitor General D. John Sauer submitted the request on behalf of the administration, asking the justices to pause a recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit that upheld a district court order blocking above-ground work on the project. The appeals court had stayed its ruling for 14 days to allow time for an appeal to the nation’s highest court.
The proposed facility would replace the former East Wing, which was demolished last year to make way for an approximately 90,000-square-foot ballroom and related structures. The administration describes the project funded entirely by private donations estimated at $400 million—as an integrated security complex that includes a secure ballroom space, underground facilities, and other protective features. Officials state the overall project is approximately 65 percent complete, with a concrete-and-steel superstructure already rising five stories deep and 70 feet high.
In its filing, the Justice Department argued that halting construction would harm national security and the safety of the President, citing previous assassination attempts against President Donald Trump. “This case involves an extraordinary and unlawful injunction that will halt the ongoing construction of the integrated military complex, including a totally secure ballroom space, at the East Wing of the White House, which is vitally required by national security,” the filing stated. The administration further contended that the entire structure is designed to shield critical security installations beneath it and that stopping work at this advanced stage would create an unfinished superstructure visible to the public.
Lower courts have permitted certain underground security and medical facilities to continue but ordered a stop to the above-ground ballroom portion pending congressional approval. The D.C. Circuit majority wrote that “whether or not a massive ballroom should be constructed is for Congress to decide and is not a matter for Executive self-help.”
President Trump has previously characterized the appellate ruling as “horrendous, politically motivated, and unlawful” and vowed an immediate appeal to the Supreme Court, emphasizing the project’s importance for the security of the White House and future presidents.
The emergency application asks the Court both to allow construction to resume immediately while it considers the matter and to issue longer-term relief permitting the work to continue during the full course of litigation. The justices are expected to act in the coming days.