NewzThe US Supreme Court on Monday allowed President Donald Trump to continue construction of his White House ballroom, granting him a major victory against opponents of the project. The conservative-dominated court voted 5-4 to lift a lower order demanding construction be halted, with Chief Justice John Roberts notably joining the court’s three liberals in dissenting. Roberts earlier this month issued a temporary order to allow construction while the full court weighed the matter.
The project has roiled Washington, with critics saying Trump acted unlawfully by unilaterally ordering the demolition of the entire White House East Wing. The court decision means construction will advance, while a lawsuit brought by the National Trust for Historic Preservation will play out in lower courts — a process that could take months or years. The National Trust did not immediately return AFP’s request for comment.
In its decision the court said that the government was likely to eventually win the ongoing lawsuit because the National Trust probably did not have the right to bring the claim in the first place. The organization’s case is grounded by one of its members, Washington resident Alison Hoagland, who claims that seeing the finished ballroom would result in damage to her “aesthetic, cultural, and historical interests,” due to its size. “This Court has not found standing in circumstances like these before.
To the contrary, we have repeatedly held that mere offense, disagreement, or distaste does not qualify as a concrete and particularized injury,” under the US constitution, the five justices wrote in their ruling. “Perhaps nearly any government action or project offends someone’s sensibilities,” they added. However, those justices made clear that they were not making a final ruling on the legality of the ballroom project, just that construction could continue while the case is argued and decided in lower courts.
The dissenting justices wrote that the project was “likely unlawful,” because “Congress has not passed any law resembling ‘express authority'” for the administration to undertake it — despite a law requiring it to do so. They also argued that Hoagland’s claims “suffices for standing.” While the ballroom has drawn headlines, the project also includes a military bunker. A district court and, later, an appellate court, halted work on the ballroom while allowing con…
The Supreme Court on Monday permitted President Trump to proceed with plans to build the White House ballroom.Why it matters: The 5-4 ruling is likely the final word on the project, which can now proceed with above-ground work after it was halted while the case played out in court.Driving the news: The majority decision noted that the justices did "not pass upon the legality of the government's East Wing project."They concluded only that, based on the submissions before the court, "the government is likely to prevail" in showing that the National Trust for Historic Preservation "lacks standing" to challenge the project in federal court "and that the remaining stay factors favor relief."Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented.What they're saying: In his dissenting opinion, Roberts wrote that construction was "likely unlawful."The court is allowing construction to proceed "not because that construction is legal," but because the Trust likely lacks standing, Roberts wrote.Representatives for the White House and the Trust did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.Catch up quick: The decision follows an interim Supreme Court order earlier this month pausing a D.C. federal court's halt on all construction while the justices considered Trump's request to keep the project moving.A divided federal appeals court panel had blocked above-ground construction, upholding a U.S. District Court judge's ruling in favor of the Trust, which argued Trump needed congressional approval for the project.Follow the money: The ballroom and its underground bunker are estimated to cost at least $600 million, up from the initial $400 million price tag when the administration announced its plans.Trump has said private donors would fund the ballroom, but his administration has asked Congress to use taxpayer dollars for security upgrades for it and other areas of the White House complex.About $352 million in taxpayer dollars was redirected to the project in June from money allocated through the One Big, Beautiful Bill.Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional details throughout.
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