The Supreme Court will allow construction of the White House ballroom to continue — a victory for President Donald Trump on his plans to redefine the White House grounds and put his personal touch on the Washington skyline.
In the unsigned opinion, the Supreme Court said the government is likely to prevail in showing that the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which had sued, does not have the legal right to challenge the East Wing project. It also said if the construction were stopped, national security would be harmed.
Chief Justice John Roberts wrote a dissent, joined by the three liberal justices, that said the construction “is likely unlawful.”
“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.
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