Key facts
- The National Trust for Historic Preservation has asked the Supreme Court to suspend construction of Donald Trump's White House ballroom project.
- The administration is seeking the Supreme Court's permission to continue the $400 million ballroom project.
- A lower court had previously ordered a pause on aboveground construction.
- The administration asserts the president has sole authority over White House renovations.
- The preservation group argues the administration is circumventing judicial review and lacks Congressional approval.
- The administration also disputes the preservation group's legal standing to sue.
A preservation group has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to halt construction on President Donald Trump's White House ballroom project. The National Trust for Historic Preservation filed its request after the Trump administration asked the high court to allow the $400 million, 90,000-square-foot ballroom construction to proceed.
Lawyers for the trust argued that the administration is attempting to bypass judicial review and secure Congressional permission for the project, stating that no statute grants the president authority to destroy a third of the White House for a privately funded ballroom. The petition follows a divided appeals court ruling that upheld a lower court's order to pause aboveground construction, though that ruling was suspended to allow the administration to appeal.
U.S. District Judge Richard Leon had previously ruled that 'no statute comes close to giving the President the authority he claims to have.' The administration maintains that the president possesses unimpeded authority for White House renovations and that the current construction site poses security challenges. The administration also disputes the National Trust's legal standing to sue over the project. The ballroom has been under construction for 10 months and is approximately 65% finished.