Trump Boasts About ‘Magnificent’ Ballroom After Supreme Court Greenlights Work

President Donald Trump speaks at Rockland Community College, Friday, May 22, 2026, in Suffern, N.Y. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Donald Trump bragged about his controversial White House ballroom project a day after Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts allowed work on the effort to keep going despite legal challenges.

Trump posted on Truth Social Saturday, declaring the project ahead of schedule:

Tremendous work has been done on the magnificent BALLROOM/MILITARY COMPLEX being built on the grounds of the White House! Presidents have wanted this for 150 years, and so has everyone else. It will give the White House, and all of D.C., Great National Security. The Project is under budget, and ahead of schedule! The Ballroom will be paid for with ZERO Dollars of Taxpayer Money. Great American Patriots and Companies are footing the entire bill. President DONALD J. TRUMP

The president demolished the historic East Wing of the White House to make room for the ballroom, without Congressional approval.

The move sparked a December lawsuit from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which accused the Trump administration of violating federal law by failing to obtain congressional approval and failing to submit plans to the National Capital Planning Commission and the Commission of Fine Arts.

Roberts’ decision reversed an Aug. 7 appeals court ruling which had halted the work.

That 2-1 decision had halted construction for 14 days, and the president ultimately appealed to the Supreme Court.

Trump appeared confident the Supreme Court would rule in his favor, telling reporters at the White House Wednesday, “We hope that doesn’t happen. I can’t imagine it happening,” when asked what his administration might do if the decision didn’t go in his favor.

He then went on to bash the National Trust member and historian Alison K. Hoagland, the person at the center of the litigation.

“The lawsuit, the person had no standing. It was a person who said she walked along and she didn’t like the view, even though nothing was built,” Trump said. “A person that didn’t like it and never even saw a rendering of it. We’ve gotten tremendous architectural reviews, it’s beautiful.”

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