Supreme Court lets Trump continue controversial White House ballroom project

The US Supreme Court has temporarily allowed President Donald Trump’s White House ballroom construction to continue, blocking a lower court ruling that would have halted work at midnight Friday.

Chief Justice John Roberts issued an administrative stay on Friday, giving the Supreme Court more time to consider the Trump administration’s request to pause lower court rulings against the project.

The order does not determine whether construction is legal. Two lower courts have ruled that Trump cannot proceed with the ballroom without congressional approval.

Construction is moving quickly, with about 250 people working 20-hour days, seven days a week, according to Trump administration filings, and adding that he complex is about 65 percent complete.

Trump welcomed the Supreme Court’s intervention, saying on social media: “We are grateful for the Decision of the United States Supreme Court.”

The National Trust for Historic Preservation sued over the project in December.

A federal judge later ordered ballroom construction to stop until Congress approved it, while allowing work on an underground bunker to continue.

The DC Circuit Court of Appeals upheld that decision earlier this month, saying: “Whether or not a massive ballroom should be constructed is for Congress to decide and is not a matter for Executive self-help.”

Construction can now continue until the Supreme Court issues another order.