Supreme Court allows Trump to continue building White House ballroom

The U.S. Supreme Court has allowed Donald Trump’s administration to keep building a vast new ballroom at the White House, giving the controversial project room to advance while the legal fight continues.

The court ruled 5-4 against a challenge from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which had sought to stop construction indefinitely. The conservative majority said the organization probably lacked the legal standing to bring the case. The justices did not decide whether the ballroom itself was lawful.

The nearly 90,000-square-foot project, about 8,360 square meters, is being built quickly. Trump views the ballroom as a central part of his presidential legacy. He has also argued that it serves national security purposes because it will include advanced systems intended to protect the White House from attacks.

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Probably unlawful.

Chief Justice John Roberts joined the dissenting justices. In a separate opinion, he wrote that the construction was “probably unlawful.” He said the White House was not just another building and accused the court of failing to understand the alleged harm. In his view, the ruling allowed the executive branch to continue what could be an intrusion into Congress’s authority over public spending and regulation of federal property in the District of Columbia.

The decision represents a major victory for Trump and will likely give the administration enough time to complete the project, although the broader lawsuit concerning the ballroom will continue.

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The White House is not just another building.