Opinion

MORNING GLORY: SCOTUS should urgently allow construction at the White House to proceed

President Trump has complied with every order of the Court over his nearly six years in office. If the court attempts to control the executive mansion, that could spell the end of executive deference to court rulings

By Hugh Hewitt Fox News

Published August 18, 2026 5:00am EDT

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Because of extremely unfortunate, inexplicable and reckless decisions of two lower courts, U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts has before him an application for a stay of an order from the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit which order upholds the imposition of a rococo construction schedule for the above-ground construction of new East Wing of the White House, one which was ordered by U.S. District Judge Richard Leon’s micromanagement of what can and cannot be built in the replacement structure of the now demolished old East Wing of The White House —an East Wing which was built in 1902 and expanded in 1942 when FDR had it substantially expanded and added underground facilities which include the Presidential Emergency Operations Center. An 84-year-old "emergency center" is, of course, outdated.

Judge Leon and the Circuit have directed President Trump what he can and cannot build on the grounds of the Executive Mansion. Judge Leon is an old acquaintance of mine and has been a fine judge for his long tenure (he was appointed by President George W. Bush in 2002 and assumed senior status in 2016), but even the best judges throw a spanner every now and then, and this order is one of those.

Judge Neomi Rao, perhaps the most brilliant intellect on the D.C. Circuit, issued a comprehensive dissent........

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