Trump Wants Supreme Court To Do What?

Trump Asks Supreme Court to Lift Block on White House Ballroom Construction

The Trump administration has asked the Supreme Court to immediately allow construction of President Donald Trump’s planned White House ballroom, escalating a legal battle that has already stopped above-ground work on the project.

Solicitor General D. John Sauer argued in an emergency filing that the ballroom should be handled by the president and the political process rather than being halted by the courts. The administration maintains that the project is necessary for presidential security and should be permitted to continue.

The proposed ballroom would cover roughly 90,000 square feet and is being built on the site of the White House’s former East Wing, which Trump ordered demolished last year to make room for the project.

Trump has repeatedly argued that the new facility is needed to provide a more secure location for large presidential events. The administration’s latest filing points to several security incidents involving the president and describes one incident last month as an alleged assassination attempt that prompted Trump to secretly board another aircraft.

The ballroom is part of a broader effort by Trump to make major changes to the appearance and layout of Washington. Other projects associated with the president, including plans involving a golf course, an arch, the Kennedy Center and the Reflecting Pool, have also faced legal challenges.

The Supreme Court request follows a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. In a 2-1 decision last Friday, the appeals court concluded that Congress had not authorized construction of the ballroom and blocked above-ground work.

The ruling does allow underground construction to continue, including work involving new security features.

The administration argues that requiring the president to obtain additional congressional authorization would give lawmakers excessive control over decisions involving security at the White House. Sauer warned that allowing the lower-court ruling to take effect would give Congress significant leverage over the project.

Unless the Supreme Court intervenes, the appeals court’s ruling is scheduled to take effect within a week.

The administration also maintains that the ballroom is being financed with private donations from corporations and therefore does not require additional congressional approval. It has separately challenged the legal standing of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the organization behind the lawsuit seeking to halt the project.

The administration is also warning about the practical consequences of stopping construction after months of work. Officials argue that leaving an unfinished structure exposed could create additional problems and produce an unattractive construction site around the White House.

The Supreme Court filing arrives while the justices are on their summer recess, but the court’s emergency docket is already active. The administration has also asked the justices to intervene in a separate dispute involving Trump’s efforts to change federal rules concerning mail-in voting.

The latest filing brings the administration’s total number of emergency appeals to the Supreme Court since Trump returned to office to roughly three dozen, according to the filing and related reporting.

Trump’s opponents have argued that the frequent emergency appeals reflect an administration willing to push legal boundaries, while the Justice Department has maintained that lower courts have improperly interfered with presidential authority.

The ballroom dispute will now move to Chief Justice John Roberts, who handles emergency applications arising from the nation’s capital. Roberts could act on the request himself or refer the matter to the full Supreme Court for consideration.