Overview
- Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. issued an administrative stay on Friday that pauses a lower‑court injunction and permits above‑ground construction of the planned 90,000‑square‑foot East Wing ballroom to resume while the full Court considers the administration’s emergency appeal.
- A three‑judge D.C. Circuit panel had earlier affirmed an injunction halting above‑ground work and held that a 1912 statute and the Constitution’s Property Clause require express congressional authorization for new structures on federal reservations in Washington.
- The Trump administration told the Supreme Court national‑security officials support the project and that Solicitor General D. John Sauer reported the work was roughly 65 percent complete and being built with large crews working around the clock.
- The National Trust for Historic Preservation sued, arguing the president exceeded statutory and constitutional authority, and lower courts have accepted the group’s standing to press claims about unlawful alteration of a historic public landmark.
- The stay heightens a practical risk that finishing the ballroom before the merits are decided could make judicial or congressional remedies harder to enforce, and it leaves open questions about funding, transfers tied to security agencies, and the Court’s final ruling on separation of powers.