Opposition to construction of the new White House East Wing took umbrage with an emergency appeal, angling instead for a supreme stall tactic that could gum up the works until next summer.
Since undertaking construction of a Military Complex/Ballroom in place of the demolished East Wing, President Donald Trump has called out the lawfare and judicial activism halting the project he considers a “gift” to the nation. Already expected to enjoy little time using the facility himself, the latest court filing against the effort sought to have the Supreme Court hear the case in regular order rather than as an emergency, potentially halting construction until the end of term in June 2027.
Tuesday, the National Trust for Historic Preservation filed its opposition to the application for stay from the Trump administration in its emergency appeal to the high court. In it, they once more floated the idea of congressional approval while claiming the White House undertook construction without authority.
“If Petitioners believe there is a pressing need for a ballroom, nothing prevents them from asking Congress for one — today, tomorrow, or any time in the future,” the filing read in part. “But Petitioners’ efforts to foil judicial review and arrogate Congress’s exclusive powers should not be rewarded with a stay that allows Petitioners to complete a ballroom they lacked any authority to commence in the first place.”
The filing also stated, “Petitioners, however, insist they will keep building — no matter what anyone says,” and described the declaration of a near fait accompli as an “astonishing” admission of “irreparable harm.”
Attorneys went on to argue that the injunction permits ongoing construction of the military facility portion of the project, that, “To the extent Petitioners fear delay, the National Trust would not oppose an expedited procedure by which the Solicitor General would file a certiorari petition within one week, the Trust would file its response one week later, and–should the Court grant certiorari–merits briefing would be expedited so the case could be argued in the October or November sitting.”
Such a move could see the construction can kicked down the road until just before the Supreme Court concludes its next term.
On the other side of the argument, as the president described opponents to the project as “very disloyal to our country,” the administration’s application for stay described U.S. District Judge Richard Leon’s preliminary injunction as “extraordinary and unlawful” and made the case the blockage of the project “vitally required by national security” amounted to wrongful installation of “a single district judge as sole arbiter of what further construction is ‘strictly necessary’ to protect the safety of the President, his family, staff members, and visitors to the White House, including foreign dignitaries, and presidents and prime ministers of other countries.”
Trump’s ballroom battle just turned personal https://t.co/j08r0e8lO8 via @BIZPACReview
— BPR (@BIZPACReview) August 18, 2026
The filing noted numerous assassination attempts and cited the dissent of Judge Neomi Rao as the opposition vote in the 2-1 decision from the appellate court that stayed Leon’s order.
“The district court elevated the aesthetic displeasure of a single passerby over the government’s security interests in the ballroom and the security risks of leaving an open construction site at the President’s home and office,” wrote Rao in part. “These errors in equitable judgment require vacating the injunction.”
As for congressional approval, Attorney General Todd Blanche maintained, “We don’t believe we have to go to Congress. We believe Congress has already given us the authority to do what we’re doing. Many presidents have done a tremendous amount of work to the White House, as they should, and Congress has authorized them to do so.”
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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