Supreme Court Allows Trump Ballroom Construction to Continue

Good Monday evening. The Supreme Court today allowed work to continue on President Trump's White House ballroom project while the legal case plays out - which might well take longer than the construction. We've got details on that and more as we close out August.

Supreme Court Allows Trump Ballroom Construction to Continue

In a 5-4 ruling Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed construction to continue on President Trump's new White House ballroom.

The court rejected a challenge from the National Trust for Historic Preservation that sought to block the work. In March, a lower court ruled in favor of the preservationist group, saying that the Trump administration had exceeded its authority in demolishing the old East Wing of the White House and building a massive, 90,000-square-foot ballroom in its place. That ruling was placed on hold as the issue played out in the courts.

Monday's ruling upholds a temporary order issued by Chief Justice Roberts on August 21 that allowed aboveground construction on the ballroom to continue. Work underground at the site, which includes a military bunker, has continued throughout the process. The White House said earlier this month that the construction of the ballroom is already 65% complete.

The five justices in the majority - in an unusual alignment, Roberts joined the three liberals on the court in the minority - ruled that the National Trust for Historic Preservation was unlikely to prevail since it appeared to lack standing in the case. The majority did not address the legality of the ballroom project itself.

In his dissent, Roberts said the ballroom project was "likely unlawful."

"The White House is not just any building," Roberts wrote. "In failing to appreciate as much, the court misconceives the plaintiff 's injury, allowing the executive's likely infringement of the legislature's power of the purse and authority to regulate federal property in the District of Columbia to continue."

The House Returns, Aiming to Tackle Short To-Do List

House lawmakers are back today after a five-week summer break - but they're not sticking around the Capitol for long. The House is scheduled to be out again next week for Labor Day, and many Republicans are reportedly already eager to cut short a session that's currently scheduled to run until October 1 so they can head home and campaign for the November midterms.

House GOP leaders have a limited agenda for the weeks before voters cast their ballots. After holding votes tonight for the first time since July 23, they are expected to bring up their main must-do item tomorrow: A stopgap bill that would avoid a potential government shutdown by extending federal funding from the October start of the new fiscal year through December 11. The bill passed the Senate in an overwhelmingly bipartisan 90-6 vote earlier this month. Speaker Mike Johnson plans to bring it up under suspension of the rules, given the expectation that it can get the two-thirds majority needed to pass under that fast-track process.

"The first thing is we've got to make sure this government gets funded and we don't have another Democratic shutdown," Johnson told reporters.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters that his leadership team and members would discuss the spending bill tonight and tomorrow before the vote.

Midterm messaging: As Republicans look to score some political points against Democrats ahead of Election Day, the House will also be voting on a resolution to condemn and denounce socialism "in all its forms, including the Democratic Socialists of America" and on a proposal to amend the Constitution to require that the Supreme Court be composed of nine justices.

The House won't be taking up any of the nine annual government funding bills it has yet to pass - and the Republican push to pass a third party-line reconciliation package remains stalled after the Senate left town without approving a budget resolution. The House had approved a $95 billion framework, but that measure, built around money for the military, farm aid and election changes, is reportedly unlikely to be considered in the Senate before the election, as fiscal conservatives and defense hawks remain divided over the package.

The bottom line: The House may not do much before the elections, the Senate is still out for two more weeks and any efforts by Republican leaders to hammer their preferred campaign messaging could well be disrupted by the Disrupter-in-Chief, who continues to dominate the political landscape with his Iran war, tariff and trade fights, construction controversies and random musings.

Trump Announces New Drug Pricing Deals

President Trump announced on Monday that nine midsized drugmakers have voluntarily agreed to lower prices on some of their medications sold to state Medicaid programs.

The companies are Alcon, Astellas Pharma, BeOne Medicines, BridgeBio, CSL, Kyowa Kirin, Sun Pharma, Teva Pharmaceuticals and UCB, according to a fact sheet provided by the White House. The drugs involved treat a variety of illnesses, including hemophilia, Parkinson's disease, macular degeneration, glaucoma and liver disease.

The price cuts are intended to match the prices agreed to by health systems in foreign countries - an effort Trump describes as a "most favored nation" policy. The White House said 17 drug manufacturers have previously agreed to put such pricing in place.

"With today's announcement, we now have 26 companies representing 90% of the domestic pharmaceutical market, and the other 10% are also coming in," Trump said at the announcement in the Oval Office. "They have no choice."

The companies have also agreed to invest $19.6 billion on manufacturing within the United States, the White House said.

Number of the Day: $253,000

The White House is spending more than $250,000 to renovate the bowling alley on the premises. Politico reports that the General Services Administration, under the auspices of the Executive Office of the President, awarded a contract for nearly $253,000 for lighting work on the two-lane Harry S. Truman Bowling Alley and another $8,800 contract for related services.

Politico's Sophia Cai notes that the GSA proposed rebuilding the lanes in 2014, under President Barack Obama, but quickly canceled the project after Republicans questioned whether it was a wise use of taxpayer money.

The GSA earlier this month reportedly also awarded the same contractor another $878,000 contract for an "EEOB basement studio project." Cai says that the bowling alley is in the basement of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, but that the award listing did not include other details about that project.

The bowling alley was renovated during President Trump's first term as well.

Fiscal News Roundup

• Supreme Court OKs Trump's Ballroom Construction, but Roberts Says Project Is 'Likely Unlawful' – Politico
• House Lawmakers Return to Washington With a Stopgap Funding Bill Atop the List of Priorities – Associated Press
• The House Is Back in Session. Many Republicans Hope It Won't Be for Long – Politico
• Audit Revenue Has Plummeted Under Trump, Watchdog Finds – New York Times
• Trump Strikes New Drug Pricing Deals With Nine Midsized Drugmakers – CNBC
• Trump Says U.S. Growth Could Hit 20%. It's Happened Only Once Since WWII – CNBC
• Bessent's G20 Pitch Collides With Anxieties Over US Debt and Iran War – Politico
• Republicans Are Losing Patience With Trump's Iran Whiplash – Politico
• Leaked Audio Reveals MAGA Rep Venting About Trump's Bizarre Priorities – Daily Beast
• Military Widows' Future Stuck in Partisan Brawl Over Veteran Benefits – Politico
• Pentagon Secretly Installs Military Influencers in Civilian Roles – Washington Post
• Fuel Supplier Sues Distributor for Nearly $4M Over Gas Allegedly Sold at Trump-Promoted Freedom Fuel Stations – Fox Business

Views and Analysis

• Trump Announced a Massive Oil Deal With Venezuela. Why It Won't Lower Gas Prices Anytime Soon – Spencer Kimball, CNBC
• Why America's Interest Payments Are Suddenly Spiking – Washington Post Editorial Board
• The True Cost of the Iran War – Washington Post Editorial Board
• King Donald Is Dethroning the Dollar – Barry Eichengreen, New York Times
• Trump Weaponizes the IRS Against Liberal Nonprofits – Robert Kuttner, American Prospect
• Poll: Working Class Voters Are Still Up for Grabs – Erin Doherty and Anna Wiederkehr, Politico
• The Republican Party's Midterm Nightmare Is Taking Shape – Jonathan Martin, Politico
• At the CDC, Damage Control Would Be a Big Win – Bloomberg Editorial Board