AIA statement on SCOTUS White House ballroom decision
On August 31, the Supreme Court of the United States granted the Trump Administration’s request to allow construction on a new White House Ballroom, reversing a lower court’s decision stopping the project.
“While we are disappointed in the outcome, it is important to be clear about what the Court did—and did not—decide. The Court did not rule that the construction is lawful. It ruled only that the plaintiffs in this case had not established standing to challenge the project. AIA maintains that the destruction of the East Wing and construction of a ballroom in its place without congressional approval is unlawful,” said 2026 AIA President Illya Azaroff, FAIA.
In fact, in his dissenting opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts acknowledged that the project is “likely unlawful” writing, “The ballroom is a building or structure being erected on federal park grounds—President’s Park—in the District of Columbia. Yet Congress has not passed any law resembling ‘express authority’ for the Executive’s construction of it.”
The initial demolition of the East Wing without public engagement undermined the process put in place to protect our civic architecture. For over a year, AIA and coalition partners have been urging Congress, the Administration, and government agencies, for transparency and accountability in the process.
After the National Trust filed suit, AIA joined an amicus brief along with *other key organizations demanding construction halt until Congressional approval and a formal process could take place. AIA is examining potential paths forward to ensure Congressional oversight of presidential construction projects. AIA has continued meeting directly with lawmakers to urge them to assert their oversight authority in this matter.
*AIA joined an amicus brief with the following organizations: American Society of Landscape Architects, the Association for Preservation Technology, the Coalition to Protect America's National Parks, the Committee of 100 on the Federal City, the Cultural Landscape Foundation, the DC Preservation League, the National Mall Coalition, the National Preservation Partners Network, the Olmsted Network, and the Society of Architectural Historians.
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