SCOTUS Allows Ballroom Construction, Army Secretary Resigns, G20 Summit in NC

**Leila Fadel** (0:02)
The Supreme Court says President Trump can keep building his White House ballroom.

**A Martinez** (0:06)
The conservative majority said that delaying construction could hurt national security, but the court hasn't decided whether the project is even legal. By that time, the ballroom might be nearly finished.

**Leila Fadel** (0:15)
I'm Leila Fadel, that's A Martinez, and this is Up First from NPR News. The Secretary of the Army, Dan Driscoll, resigned after 18 months on the job. The Army's top civilian leader didn't like the purging of senior generals to install loyalists among other things, NPR's Greg Myhre digs into the friction at the Pentagon.

**A Martinez** (0:35)
The world's biggest economies are meeting in North Carolina this week. The Trump administration wants to use the G20 summit to convince countries to help squeeze Iran's economy.

**Josh Lipsky** (0:45)
The question some countries are asking at the moment is, is the US a source of stability or instability in the global economy?

**A Martinez** (0:51)
Stay with us, we've got the news you need to start your day. The Supreme Court is allowing construction on the White House ballroom to continue.

**Leila Fadel** (1:03)
That hands President Trump a significant victory on one of his top priorities by way of the high court's emergency docket. The move drew a dissent from Chief Justice John Roberts and the court's three liberal justices.

**A Martinez** (1:17)
NPR's Carrie Johnson has been following the case. Carrie, why is the Supreme Court siding with the Trump administration on this?

**Carrie Johnson** (1:23)
The court said it was not tackling the heart of the matter, whether this construction is legal for now.
But the majority five justices said the group suing over the ballroom project had not suffered a direct concrete injury that would allow it to bring the case to court. The Supreme Court majority said, quote, mere offense, disagreement or distaste does not qualify as an injury to get through those courthouse doors. And the majority also said the government will likely suffer irreparable harm if construction is delayed. They mentioned court papers filed by leaders of the CIA, the FBI and the Director of National Intelligence, who all said national security could be at risk and it could be harder to protect the president.

**A Martinez** (2:05)
All right, so that's the majority. The court, though, was closely divided five-four. What did the dissenters say?

**Carrie Johnson** (2:11)
In a bit of a surprise, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the dissent and he was joined by the three liberal justices. They all agreed with the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which argued the construction is likely unlawful because federal law says Congress needs to approve buildings on federal park grounds and Congress has not passed any law to pave the way for this ballroom.
John Roberts says the White House is an iconic building whose quote, symbolism and history are wrapped up in its architecture. He says the White House is not just any building and the member of the National Trust who said she was injured here is not just any person. She's an expert on architecture. Her name is Alison Hoagland. She talked to Morning Edition this year near the construction site at the White House. Here's what she said at the time.

**Alison Hoagland** (2:58)
As most Washingtonians, do we come through here all the time. This is the center of the city. We bring friends here, we drive by, we walk by, and the White House is so visually accessible to all of us. It's something we can see from the street, or at least it used to be today. It's a little difficult.

**Carrie Johnson** (3:15)
Now, the National Trust says it's disappointed with this ruling, and presidents are only temporary stewards of the people's house.

**A Martinez** (3:22)
What's the reaction from the White House?

**Carrie Johnson** (3:25)
You know, despite everything going on, the wars, high prices for consumers, President Trump has really focused on the ballroom and other construction projects around the city. He posted on Truth Social, quote, I'm pleased to report the United States Supreme Court has just ruled in favor of the ballroom military complex being built without any further contingency, doubt or threat. Trump is so detail oriented about these projects, he even gave reporters a tour of the ballroom in May.

**Donald Trump** (3:53)
Hundreds of billions of dollars already on the ballroom and it's coming out, I think, incredibly.

**A Martinez** (3:58)
Now, does the Supreme Court's decision mean that Trump's ballroom has no more obstacles to get around?

**Carrie Johnson** (4:05)
No, the court is letting the construction continue for now, but it left some room to hear the underlying dispute about the legality of this project in the future. There's a complicating factor. In court papers, the Trump administration says crews are working 20 hours a day, seven days a week to finish this project. The construction's been underway for the better part of a year and a lot more work could be done by the time the Supreme Court gets to the biggest question. In this case, the president seems aware of that, as he said on social media, it will all be complete in the summer of 2028, something he says the country can be proud of.