The US Supreme Court has allowed Trump administration to continue construction of $400 million White House ballroom project whilst the Republican president challenges a judicial order that halted the development.
In a 5-4 ruling, the court granted the administration's emergency request to block a lower court injunction that halted above-ground construction during ongoing litigation brought by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
The ruling was backed by five of the court's six conservative justices, who determined that the preservation group lacked legal standing to sue and warned the government would suffer "irreparable harm" linked to national security if work remained stalled.
Chief Justice John Roberts was the sole conservative justice to dissent, joining the court's three liberal members.
Roberts wrote that the construction is "likely unlawful," emphasising that Congress holds constitutional authority over federal property and has prohibited unauthorised building in President's Park.
Security arguments
The National Trust sued last year after the administration demolished the historic White House East Wing—built in 1902 and expanded in 1942—to construct an 8,360-square-metre facility without explicit congressional approval.
Justice Department lawyers argued the development is a vital security necessity following assassination attempts against Trump, describing the site as an "integrated military complex" featuring underground bomb shelters, drone and missile shielding, and medical units.
The ruling overturns an August decision by the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which had upheld a halt on above-groundwork, ruling that "each President is a temporary tenant, not the owner, of the White House" and that national security arguments "are not an automatic get-out-of-law-free card."
The Justice Department stated that the East Wing project is roughly 65 percent complete.
