Chief Justice John Roberts on Friday issued a temporary order allowing construction to continue on President Donald Trump's $400 million White House ballroom project, pausing a lower-court ruling that would have halted aboveground work. The brief, one-page order — containing little reasoning and no set timeline — keeps construction running while the Supreme Court considers the Trump administration's emergency request to intervene in ongoing lawsuits challenging the project.

The dispute centres on a sweeping construction effort that has already demolished the White House's East Wing, replacing it with a planned 90,000-square-foot (roughly 8,400-square-metre) complex. District Court Judge Richard Leon, a George W. Bush appointee, had ordered a stop to aboveground construction, finding that Trump lacked the authority to proceed without congressional approval. An appeals court panel, with two judges appointed by Democratic presidents, upheld that ruling, concluding the project was "not a matter for Executive self-help." A third judge, appointed by Trump, dissented on the grounds that the preservationist group challenging the project lacked standing to sue. Roberts, who oversees appeals from Washington-based courts, signed the order suspending those rulings.

The administration has shifted its public rationale for the project over time. When Trump first announced plans for a new ballroom — citing the need to properly host foreign dignitaries who had previously been accommodated in outdoor tents — he said it would be funded by private donations, including from himself. Around $200 million in private contributions has since been spent or committed. In recent months, however, the administration has increasingly framed the undertaking as a national security imperative, pointing to an underground bunker and military installation being built alongside the ballroom. The structure beneath the White House dates to the Second World War, and senior security officials — including the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Director of National Intelligence — submitted sworn statements warning that halting work would endanger the president and his family. Trump, posting on Truth Social after the ruling, called the complex "the greatest of its kind" and "vital to national security."

The National Trust for Historic Preservation, a non-profit organisation established by Congress to protect public buildings, has led the legal challenge. Its lawyers argue that federal law and the Constitution vest in Congress — not the president — the authority to determine what structures may be built on federal property in Washington. They accused the White House of deliberately accelerating construction to "outrun the courts," noting that crews are currently working 20 hours a day, seven days a week, with the administration reporting 65% of the project already complete.

The temporary order is not a final ruling on the merits. The National Trust said it is awaiting a fuller decision from the court. The case arrives as the Supreme Court has become a frequent venue for the Trump administration's emergency legal battles, with the justices granting some requests while ultimately ruling against the president on others after more thorough review. Whether Congress must approve such a fundamental transformation of a national landmark — and how far presidential authority over federal property extends — remains to be decided.