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Supreme Court Lets Construction Continue on Trump’s $558 Million Ballroom
🇦🇺 Australia /Crime & Justice

Supreme Court Lets Construction Continue on Trump’s $558 Million Ballroom

From ABC Australia · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources In the courts
  • The Supreme Court allowed the White House to continue building a $558 million ballroom while lawsuits proceed.
  • Chief Justice John Roberts and the court’s three liberal justices dissented, arguing the project likely required congressional approval.
  • The court did not rule on the project’s legality, instead finding that a preservation group likely lacked standing to challenge it.

The US Supreme Court has cleared the way for construction of Donald Trump’s planned White House ballroom to continue, even as a legal challenge over congressional authority moves through lower courts.

The apparent 5-4 decision replaces a temporary order issued earlier this month. The majority did not decide whether the project itself is legal. Instead, the unsigned opinion found that the National Trust for Historic Preservation likely lacked the legal right to bring the challenge. The court also cited national security concerns raised by the government.

Today’s decision is no victory for the separation of powers.

— John RobertsThe chief justice dissented from the ruling allowing construction to continue.

Chief Justice John Roberts strongly disagreed. He was the only conservative justice to join the three liberal justices in dissent. “Today’s decision is no victory for the separation of powers,” Roberts wrote, calling the project “likely unlawful” because Congress had not approved it.

The dispute covers work that has included demolishing the White House East Wing. The preservation group argues that Trump cannot order the project unilaterally, while its lawyers accuse the administration of trying to accelerate construction faster than the courts can decide the case. Government lawyers have argued that the president has broad authority to renovate the White House and other federal buildings.

Likely unlawful.

— John RobertsRoberts described the ballroom project as likely unlawful because Congress had not approved it.

The administration initially said the ballroom would be financed through private donations. It later argued in court that national security concerns made completion necessary. Court documents say crews are working 20 hours a day on the planned 8,400-square-metre ballroom. The framework is expected to be completed in November, much of the facade by April, and the entire project in August 2028.

A federal judge ordered above-ground construction to stop in April, while allowing work on underground bunkers and military installations to continue. The order was suspended and later upheld by a divided appeals court. The case will return to the lower courts as construction proceeds.

Outrun the courts.

— National Trust for Historic Preservation lawyersThe group’s lawyers accused the White House of accelerating construction before the legal challenge could be resolved.
About this summary

Originally published by ABC Australia in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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