Donald Trump shakes hands with chief of staff Susie Wiles as he speaks, following early results from the 2024 U.S. presidential election in Palm Beach County Convention Center, in West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., November 6, 2024.
President Donald Trump’s plan to replace the White House East Wing with a massive new ballroom has suffered another major courtroom setback. Now, as the fight appears headed toward the Supreme Court, one legal expert says Trump may be running out of legal ground.
In a panel discussion Friday after the ruling, MS NOW legal analyst Lisa Rubin said that while the high court is known for handing greater executive authority to Trump, they may not take up this case. Then again, they might, Rubin hedged.
"Possibly,not necessarily, but very well,possibly in part because thisis a court that oftentimes willtake up the president's, quoteunquote, emergency request forits intervention."
Trump will likely demand a lower court stop the ruling by the appeals court pending the appeal. She explained that for Trump to resume construction, Trump must get permission from the U.S. Supreme Court, which is on summer break. Their first oral argument isn't scheduled until Oct. 5, 2026.
"Knowing that, [the court] may be hard-pressed to turn down an opportunity to clarify what they mean," Rubin continued. "On the other hand, will this necessarily go his way? I'm not — I don't think so. And that's because the president took it upon himself unilaterally, as you were just reviewing, to not only demolish the East Room, but to begin the construction of a ballroom. And this court says in a 100-page opinion that, for a variety of reasons across statutory and constitutional authorities, that just wasn't his decision to make, irrespective of what dollars he's using, irrespective of the rationale for building it. It was never his decision to make."
She called it a "fundamental clash" between the branches of government. In the past, some of those have gone Trump's way while a small few haven't.
"This is a Supreme Court that has been very friendly to this president's interpretation of sort of an elastic presidential power," said Rubin. "The question is, at somepoint that rubber band snaps.This might be that opportunity."
Substitute host Gene Daniels noted that the East Wing is already gone; he asked what the Supreme Court can do about it. It isn't as if Trump can be fined by the court for the destruction and required to rebuild the East Wing as it was.
"More importantly, it doesn't necessarily mean that the White House has to put any money toward or that there's any relief for the people who have brought this case in the first place," Rubin said. "Now, let's remember, the plaintiffs in this case are a national historic organization that basically are seeking to vindicate the interests of preservation of historic buildings. So, it's not clear what the relief for them would be, other than pausing and stopping any future construction."
Still, the giant hole in the White House grounds remains, she said.
Former Republican Party Chairman Michael Steele said that what Trump has done to Washington "is an abomination." He explained that even during the times that Americans were the most divided over the Vietnam War, over whether women should have the right to vote or Civil Rights, no one touched the national monuments.
"And that's what Donald Trump is doing. His imprimatur is, I'm going to turn this into me, and there's nothing you can do about it," Steele said.
As a final point, Steele said that this is the way Trump "wins." He does whatever he wants until someone stops him, and then they're left with a mess. He fully expects the Supreme Court to allow Trump to do whatever he wants with the White House.
"What's the courtgoing to do? The court's going to give him what he wants. They'll find a way. They'll make the case that was made here. Well, you've already torn the building down and you're not going to rebuild the old East Wing. And you know, the administration doesn't have those parameters to do that. So, future administrations should know they can't. But what are you going to do? So, that's how Donald Trump acts. He acts. And then everybody else has to figure out how to undo it. And they realize they can't. He wins."
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