By John Kruzel
WASHINGTON, Aug 31 (Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday allowed Donald Trump’s administration to continue construction of his White House ballroom project while the Republican president challenges a judicial order that would halt much of the development.
The justices in a 5-4 ruling granted the administration’s request to block a lower court’s order halting above-ground construction of the $400 million ballroom while a lawsuit by a historic preservation group seeking to stop the project proceeds.
The ruling was powered by five of the court’s six conservative justices. They wrote that the plaintiffs in the case, the nonprofit National Trust for Historic Preservation, lacked the necessary legal standing to sue. They also said the government would likely suffer “irreparable harm” if the project were blocked, citing national security concerns.
Chief Justice John Roberts was the only conservative justice to dissent. He was joined by the court’s three liberal justices.
The ballroom construction is “likely unlawful,” Roberts wrote, noting that Congress has “plenary constitutional authority over the District of Columbia and federal property” and that it has prohibited structures from being built on federal government grounds in Washington, D.C., without its authorization.
“The ballroom is a building or structure being erected on federal park grounds — President’s Park — in the District of Columbia. Yet Congress has not passed any law resembling ‘express authority’ for the Executive’s construction of it,” Roberts wrote.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation sued last year after the administration tore down the White House East Wing and began building a 90,000-square-foot (8,360-square-meter) ballroom without seeking specific approval from Congress. Trump has said the ballroom will be “the greatest of its kind ever built.”
In an August 14 filing to the Supreme Court, Justice Department lawyers echoed Trump’s contention that the project is a security necessity, citing assassination attempts against the president and other recent threats.
“This case involves an extraordinary and unlawful injunction that will halt the ongoing construction of the integrated military complex, including a totally secure ballroom space, at the East Wing of the White House, which is vitally required by national security,” they wrote.
The project combines the above-ground ballroom with an extensive underground complex. Trump has said the project includes bomb shelters, medical facilities, shielding from drones and missiles and other security features that are “all tied together as one big, expensive and very complex unit.”
On August 7, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in a 2-1 ruling upheld U.S. District Judge Richard Leon’s order directing the administration to halt above-ground construction.
‘A TEMPORARY TENANT’
“Each President is a temporary tenant, not the owner, of the White House,” and cannot fundamentally reshape it without congressional approval, the D.C. Circuit’s ruling stated.
The district judge’s order did not permanently bar construction of a ballroom. It blocked above-ground efforts while allowing below-ground construction to continue, as well as work deemed “strictly necessary” for the safety and security of the White House. In its ruling, the D.C. Circuit said national security arguments “are not an automatic get-out-of-law-free card.”
The Justice Department said in its August 14 filing that the overall East Wing project — including both the underground facilities and the above-ground ballroom — is 65% complete.
Trump has said the ballroom project is a security necessity, and has referred to the structure as a “military center” in a post on Truth Social. Trump called the D.C. Circuit’s decision “horrendous” and politically motivated, and said it left him, other White House officials and visitors exposed to attack.
“This unjust decision must be overturned by the Supreme Court in its entirety,” Trump wrote.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation in court papers urged the justices to turn away the administration’s bid to continue with ballroom construction while litigation proceeds.
“Each court to examine the question has agreed that (the Trump administration has) no unilateral legal authority — constitutional, statutory or otherwise — to build a massive ballroom on the site of the now-demolished East Wing,” lawyers for the group wrote.
“And each court has told (the administration) in no uncertain terms that they must stop their illegal construction unless and until they receive express approval from Congress,” it wrote.
The project is part of Trump’s broader efforts to reshape the Washington landscape, including plans to build a 250-foot (76-meter) arch and revamp the Kennedy Center, a cultural landmark and performance center.
The demolished East Wing housed the first lady’s offices and the White House movie theater. It was originally built in 1902 during Theodore Roosevelt’s presidency and greatly expanded in 1942 during Franklin Roosevelt’s presidency.
The Supreme Court, which as a 6-3 conservative majority, has frequently ruled in favor of Trump in his second term in office, with some notable exceptions, as he has pushed to expand his powers in domestic affairs and foreign policy.
(Reporting by John Kruzel with additional reporting by Andrew Chung; Editing by Will Dunham)
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