Supreme Court Lets Trump Keep Building His Border Wall

He added that the administration planned to file its petition by Aug. 7, far ahead of the deadline. That would allow the justices to consider whether to hear the case at their first private conference after their summer break, on Sept. 29.

In a second brief, the environmental groups said that the quicker timeline contemplated by the government was too slow and “still means that they will complete the very border wall construction in dispute before this court can hear argument on the case, much less render a decision.”

“Only by lifting the stay will the court ensure that it will have the opportunity to resolve plaintiffs’ claims on the merits before the wall is built,” the brief said.

The Supreme Court’s earlier order was unsigned and only one paragraph long, but it indicated that the groups challenging the administration may not have a legal right to do so. That suggested that the court’s conservative majority was likely to side with the administration in the end.

The lawsuit arose from Mr. Trump’s efforts to make good on a campaign promise to build the barrier. In early 2019, he declared a national emergency along the Mexican border. The declaration followed a two-month impasse with Congress over funding to build the wall, a standoff that gave rise to the longest partial government shutdown in the nation’s history.

After Congress appropriated only a fraction of what Mr. Trump had sought, he announced that he would act unilaterally to spend billions more.

Soon after, the environmental groups sued to stop the president’s plan to use money meant for military programs to build barriers along the border in what he said was an effort to combat drug trafficking.