MORNING GLORY: SCOTUS should urgently allow construction at the White House to proceed
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 An 84-year-old "emergency center" is, of course, outdated.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 to the rambling wreck of the circuit court’s lengthy opinion. The Department of Justice has asked the Chief Justice to stay the order of the Circuit Court and thus Judge Leon’s order.
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Justice Roberts requested the Trust’s response, due by noon (EDT) on Tuesday, August 18, 2026
I hope the Chief Justice stays the D.C. Circuit order Tuesday by COB and makes it clear that construction may continue until and unless the Supreme Court itself orders it halted. Not only are there obvious "standing issues" that should have barred the courts from reaching to the "merits" of the case brought by the National Trust for Historic Preservation (as President Trump noted in a post Thursday,) but the heart of the debate is presidential authority over the Executive Mansion and its attached grounds and other structures related to the role of Commander-in-Chief.
This is not a close case. A terse opinion may follow on the ongoing, urgent need to allow this president and all future presidents authority over their home/office/national security facilities within that area as well as associated areas such as Camp David.
To ignore the rapidly evolving threats to the White House and any facility used frequently by any president against this reality would be reckless beyond reason and defy common sense. Judge Rao’s dissent from the D.C. Circuit decision is persuasive, but it is too long. The idea that there has to be a process to change the White House facilities (or Camp David or any national security facility threatened by the continually changing capabilities of the country’s enemies) is ridiculous and should be declared so in short, sharp sentences aimed at restoring common sense to the country’s awareness of the threats it faces.
The Constitution would not have established the separate but equal branch of the Executive (which also names him the Commander-in-Chief of the military) without including within those grants the necessary and proper powers to conduct both the execution of the laws and the facilities necessary to the command-and-control of the military.
The backdrop to this case is not just repeated attempts on the lives of this and other presidents, but also rapidly evolving surveillance technology that has to be countered, and, of course, the astonishing evolution of the threats from drones and hypersonic missiles over the past three years. This president and future presidents should not be hindered in securing their homes, offices and national security facilities from a threat matrix that has soared off the charts.
Recall that on 9/11, Vice President Dick Cheney was physically lifted up and out of his West Wing Office. Where do you think he was taken? The Blue Room?
What do you imagine is being built below the new East Wing?
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Imagine the consequences of a state sponsor of terror successfully targeting the White House in the near term if necessary defenses that would have deflected the attack are not in place because of this ridiculous litigation.
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"Trump Derangement Syndrome" has spread far and wide, but while the hard left in this country (and the terror-based regimes which align with the objectives of the radicals) would love to see a Commander-in-Chief denied authority over his command structures and defense of his residence, the Supreme Court should move quickly to end this circus.
Most of America, and certainly its highest court, would rather spend the rest of its summer break relaxing and preparing for another term that begins in October.
But that’s not what would-be assassin nutters much less the Iranian Revolutionary Guard are doing this August. The Supreme Court must "must never forget that it is a constitution we are expounding," and this is the rare case where common sense about the Constitution should see the stay issue and construction resumed according to the design the president has approved after consultations with the Secret Service and the Pentagon.
Hugh Hewitt is a Fox News contributor and host of "The Hugh Hewitt Show" heard weekday afternoons from 3 PM to 6 PM ET on the Salem Radio Network, and simulcast on Salem News Channel. Hugh drives Americans home on the East Coast and to lunch on the West Coast on over 400 affiliates nationwide, and on all the streaming platforms where SNC can be seen. He is a frequent guest on the Fox News Channel’s news roundtable, hosted by Bret Baier weekdays at 6pm ET. A son of Ohio and a graduate of Harvard College and the University of Michigan Law School, Hewitt has been a Professor of Law at Chapman University’s Fowler School of Law since 1996 where he teaches Constitutional Law. Hewitt launched his eponymous radio show from Los Angeles in 1990. Hewitt has frequently appeared on every major national news television network, hosted television shows for PBS and MSNBC, written for every major American paper, has authored a dozen books and moderated a score of Republican candidate debates, most recently the November 2023 Republican presidential debate in Miami and four Republican presidential debates in the 2015-16 cycle. Hewitt focuses his radio show and his column on the Constitution, national security, American politics and the Cleveland Browns and Guardians. Hewitt has interviewed tens of thousands of guests from Democrats Hillary Clinton and John Kerry to Republican Presidents George W. Bush and Donald Trump over his 40 years in broadcasting. This column previews the lead story that will drive his radio/ TV show today.