Chief Justice John Roberts on Friday, August 21, 2026, granted a temporary administrative stay that allows the Trump administration to continue construction of a new ballroom on the site of the demolished East Wing of the White House while the Supreme Court considers the government's request for longer-term relief.
According to SCOTUSblog and NPR, the one-sentence order blocks a ruling by Senior U.S. District Judge Richard Leon that would have halted above-ground work on the project. An administrative stay is a provisional measure and can be revisited by the full Court.
The lawsuit was brought by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which argued that the administration lacked statutory authority to demolish the East Wing and build the roughly 90,000-square-foot ballroom. Government lawyers contended that presidents have inherent authority to make alterations and improvements to the White House and to construct buildings on federal parkland, without approval from Congress.
SCOTUSblog reported that the National Trust filed suit in December 2025, that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit affirmed Judge Leon's order on August 7, 2026, and that the administration sought Supreme Court intervention on August 14. NPR reported the project is estimated to cost at least $300 million. The order did not indicate when the justices might rule on the underlying stay application.
Sources: NPR, SCOTUSblog, Axios, NBC News