A $400 Million White House Ballroom, and Why the Supreme Court Matters More Than Ever

Here's what happened: The Supreme Court sided with the Trump administration on a narrow question about whether a historic preservation group had standing to challenge a massive White House renovation project. The $400 million ballroom construction is moving forward.

That's not really the story.

The real story is this: The Supreme Court, the only branch of government with no term limits, no binding ethics code, and no meaningful accountability, just made a major ruling that affects the future of a federal building. And it did so as an institution that operates in near-total darkness.

Consider the contrast. Workers on the ballroom project now have jobs (that's good). But the Court that cleared the way for their employment has zero obligation to disclose conflicts of interest, no ethics rules that bind it, and justices who can serve for life with zero accountability. Justice Clarence Thomas has accepted lavish gifts from billionaires and reported almost nothing. Justice Samuel Alito's opinion draft in Dobbs was leaked, and there was no mechanism to investigate how or why. The Court has reversed 150 years of precedent on abortion, affirmative action, and voting rights in a handful of years, and Americans have no recourse.

The Court is the only federal branch that doesn't answer to voters, Congress, or the people it governs. It should at least answer to itself.

Read the full reporting at The Hill.