US Supreme Court allows White House ballroom construction to continue
In a 5–4 decision, the US Supreme Court granted an emergency application by the administration of President Donald Trump. This allows construction of a $400 million ballroom at the White House to continue. The decision also blocked lower-court rulings that could have halted work on the above-ground portion of the project.
Lawsuit over presidential authority
The lawsuit was filed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. It argued that the president does not have unilateral authority to carry out the construction and that the work is causing irreversible damage to a historic landmark.
As BBC News World reports, Trump demolished the historic East Wing of the executive residence last fall to begin construction of the ballroom.
On Friday, Chief Justice John Roberts temporarily allowed the work to continue while the court considered the lawsuit seeking to stop the project entirely. The ballroom project also includes a military complex.
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Dissent from four justices
On Monday, Roberts joined three justices from the liberal wing who disagreed with the majority decision. They said that the construction was likely unlawful.
The dissenting justices said that Congress had explicitly prohibited the construction of buildings or structures on federal land in the capital without clear authorization from Congress. According to them, lawmakers had not passed a law that could be considered such authorization for this construction.
At the same time, in an unsigned order, five justices said that the Trump administration would likely be able to establish that the plaintiff lacks standing to challenge the East Wing project. Trump had previously said that the White House needed more space for events and has recently also linked the project to security issues.
