Donald Trump is essentially telling the Supreme Court: Try and stop me.
As the nation’s highest court prepares to decide whether construction of Trump’s $400 million White House ballroom can continue, the president is making a startling claim: the project is “impossible” to stop.
According to a court filing, Trump has declared that not even the Supreme Court will be able to halt construction of his ballroom project because it is being built with “indestructible” materials designed to withstand bombs, missiles and even nuclear blasts, and can’t be taken down.
And there’s a particularly blunt claim buried in the filing: If the courts ultimately order Trump to tear it down or substantially alter it, “it may be virtually impossible to do so.”
Solicitor General John Sauer told the court that if the building were ordered to be removed, “there would be no way to do so.”
That raises an obvious question: Did the administration deliberately build the project in a way that would make a court order to stop it practically meaningless?
Trump’s ballroom is becoming something much bigger
The legal fight began after Trump demolished the White House’s East Wing last year to make room for the ballroom, a massive project that was not authorized by Congress and has faced fierce opposition from preservation groups.
A federal judge ruled this month that Trump did not have the unilateral authority to demolish parts of the White House and proceed with the project without congressional approval and funding.
The administration is now asking the Supreme Court to allow construction to continue while the broader legal battle plays out.
But the court filing paints a picture of a project that has apparently grown well beyond a fancy reception hall.
The administration describes the ballroom as part of an “integrated” complex that includes military and security infrastructure, including bomb shelters and other features designed to protect the presidency.
Trump himself recently gave reporters an impromptu tour of the construction, bragging about the project and describing the ballroom as having become “so much a military component” because of the drones, bomb shelters and other security features.
He also talked up plans for guests to enjoy cocktails on the South Lawn before heading inside to the enormous new ballroom.
All of this is happening as the national debt has climbed past $40 trillion.
Built to withstand bombs—and court orders?
The administration’s argument about the construction materials is perhaps the most extraordinary part of the filing.
According to the court document, the project uses specially reinforced concrete, steel and glass intended to withstand bombs, rockets, missiles and even nuclear blasts.
The filing describes the structure as essentially a giant safe room for the presidency and the continuity of government.
And then comes the line that could have major implications for the Supreme Court’s decision.
The administration says the concrete is the kind used in nuclear power plants and is “virtually impossible to deconstruct.”
In other words, if the Supreme Court ultimately rules that Trump cannot proceed with the project, the administration appears to be warning that undoing the construction could be extraordinarily difficult.
Sauer put it even more bluntly.
“That line has long since been crossed,” he said.
That argument could put the Supreme Court in an uncomfortable position: If construction continues now and the court later rules against Trump, what exactly can the court do?
Observers say Trump is racing the courts
The National Trust for Historic Preservation, which brought the original lawsuit challenging the ballroom, argues that Trump never had the legal authority to move forward with the project on his own.
The group says there is “no unilateral legal authority—constitutional, statutory, or otherwise” allowing the administration to build the ballroom without congressional approval.
Brent Leggs, the group’s president, accused the administration of deliberately trying to get ahead of the courts.
“They are working around the clock in an attempt to outrace judicial review,” Leggs said.
The National Trust says every court that has considered the case so far has agreed with its position and is urging the Supreme Court to stop the project.
The Supreme Court faces a Friday deadline to decide whether construction of the ballroom can continue while the legal challenges move forward.
The stakes are bigger than whether Trump gets his ballroom.
The administration is effectively arguing that the structure has been engineered so heavily, that stopping it could become nearly impossible.
That leaves the justices facing a potentially uncomfortable reality: If the court wants to stop Trump’s ballroom, it may have to do it before Trump makes stopping it practically impossible.
