Construction on Donald Trump‘s grandiose ballroom can resume after a lower court ruling that halted the President’s pet project was overturned.
The ruling by the court’s conservative majority is a major victory for the administration after it demolished the entire White House East Wing for a project that has become a defining focus of Trump’s presidency.
Chief Justice John Roberts issued an administrative stay blocking the DCÂ District Court’s ruling indefinitely while the justices weigh making a final decision on the matter.Â
The temporary order allows crews to continue aboveground work on the $400 million, 90,000-square-foot ballroom, which the administration says is already 65 percent complete.
A divided appeals court previously ruled that Trump lacked the authority to build the massive addition without approval from Congress.
The White House has defended the project as part of an integrated military complex containing a bunker, hospital and classified security facilities critical to protecting the president.
Trump appealed to the Supreme Court after the appeals court said he could not proceed without authorization from Congress.
The Daily Mail has contacted the White House for comment. Â
Construction crews demolish the East Wing of the White House for the ballroomÂ
Construction on Donald Trump’s grandiose ballroom can resume after a lower court ruling that halted the president’s pet project was overturned
Chief Justice John Roberts issued an administrative stay blocking the DC District Court’s ruling while the justices weigh making a final decision on the matter
A divided appeals court previously ruled that Trump lacked the authority to build the massive addition without approval from Congress
Trump has used the April assassination attempt at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, where a gunman opened fire and charged toward the DC ballroom where the President was sitting, to justify building one on White House grounds.Â
Trump claimed the attack could never have occurred had the dinner been held inside the new facility, touting its bulletproof windows and hardened steel roof.
The White House doubled down after the FBI thwarted a separate plot to attack the UFC Freedom 250 event on the South Lawn in June using explosive-laden drones and snipers.
Justice Department lawyers said the ballroom’s size and height would help shield the White House grounds, while its planned rooftop drone port and sniper nests could help stop similar attacks.
Trump has said the drone port will accommodate an ‘unlimited’ number of drones and help protect the entire capital from aerial threats.
Senate and House Democrats have denounced the ballroom as Trump’s lavish vanity project at a time when Americans are struggling with soaring fuel and grocery prices.
The project has also faced resistance from Republican senators who questioned its ballooning cost.Â
Seven Senate Republicans later joined Democrats in backing an amendment that would have required congressional authorization before either public or private money could be spent on the ballroom.
The rebellion ultimately forced Republican leaders to strip the $1 billion request from a broader immigration spending bill after conceding they did not have enough votes to pass it.
