Chief Justice John Roberts signed a temporary order on Friday allowing the Trump administration to continue construction of a $400 million White House ballroom, pausing a lower court ruling that would have halted much of the project.
The administrative stay gives the Supreme Court time to weigh the administration’s emergency appeal. Lower courts had ordered a stop to the work, finding it required congressional approval. That ruling was set to take effect Friday. Roberts acted because he oversees appeals of cases originating in Washington.
The Trump administration says 65% of the work is already complete on the planned 90,000-square-foot (8,400-square-metre) structure. The project began in 2025 with the demolition of the East Wing to make room for the new venue.
The administration argues that the president holds total authority to renovate the White House and other federal buildings, and that the ballroom must be finished on national security grounds. When Trump first announced the plan, he described it as privately funded, including by himself, and did not raise national security.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation, which sued to stop the work, contends the president has no unilateral power to carry it out. Lawyers for the group accused the White House of trying to “outrun the courts” by accelerating construction.
The dispute reaches the court after the administration asked the justices to permit construction to proceed while the preservation group’s lawsuit continues. An appeals court had earlier halted the project over the congressional approval question.
The administration has won a series of emergency-docket rulings at the high court, though the justices have ruled against some of Trump’s signature policies after fuller review. Friday’s order does not resolve the underlying legal question of whether the project may proceed without congressional sign-off.
The court has not set a date for its ruling on the administration’s formal request for a stay.