Supreme Court allows White House ballroom work to continue
Chief Justice John Roberts on Friday issued a temporary order allowing the Trump administration to continue constructing the $400 million White House ballroom, staying lower-court rulings that had called for a halt to aboveground work. The order came hours before those rulings were scheduled to take effect, and it will remain in place while the full Supreme Court considers the administration's emergency appeal.
The one-page order did not detail Roberts's reasoning or indicate when the court might issue a more durable decision. Roberts signed the order because he oversees emergency appeals of cases filed in the capital, a role assigned to a specific justice.
In a separate development reported by Al Jazeera, President Trump responded to the court's decision in a social media post, saying he was "grateful" to the court and describing the future ballroom as "THE GREATEST OF ITS KIND." He also wrote that such a project had been sought by presidents for 150 years and by the military for 100 years.
Legal fight over congressional approval
The legal battle centers on whether President Trump has the authority to renovate the White House and other federal buildings without congressional approval. The administration argues that the president has total authority over such projects and that the ballroom must be completed for national security reasons. The National Trust for Historic Preservation, which filed suit in December to stop the construction, counters that Trump has no unilateral authority to undertake the work.
In August, a lower-court order on the issue was issued by District Judge Richard Leon, who was appointed by President George W. Bush. Judge Leon ordered a halt to aboveground construction, finding that the project required congressional approval, and he also included a provision allowing essential construction to continued if needed for the safety and security of the White House.
Earlier this month, a three-judge appeals court panel upheld Leon's order on a 2-1 vote. The two judges who voted to uphold found that the ballroom decision belongs to Congress, while a third, Trump-appointed judge said the preservation group had no legal standing and called the injunction a "blatant abuse of discretion." According to the administration, the project is 65 percent complete, with crews working 20-hour days, seven days a week.
The appeals court ruling was paused for 14 days to allow the Trump administration to petition the Supreme Court, and it was that deadline that the chief justice's order has effectively suspended.
Project details and funding
The project involves the demolition of the White House East Wing, which took place in October with no advance public notice, according to Al Jazeera, to make way for a 90,000-square-foot ballroom. The administration maintains that the project must be completed for national security concerns, although Trump's earlier statements cited a need for more space for state dinners and other events. Below the ballroom, a multi-story bunker is under construction for a hospital and military facilities.
The project is largely funded by private donations, including contributions from Trump himself. According to Justice Department court documents, about $200 million in private donations has been spent or committed on the project.
The case and its context
The case arrives as the Trump administration asserts expansive presidential power in various areas and has achieved several victories on the Supreme Court's emergency docket, while some of the president's more prominent policies have been rejected by the court after full review. The Supreme Court, as Al Jazeera reported, has a conservative majority, with six justices appointed by Republican presidents and three appointed by Democratic presidents.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation raised concerns in December, and the trust's lawyers accused the White House of trying to "outrun the courts" by accelerating construction. In nationwide decision, a lower court later ordered a stop to aboveground construction in August, as reported by Al Jazeera.
The high court's decision remains under consideration, and the construction continues as the legal proceedings unfold.