U.S. Chief Justice lets Trump keep building ballroom

U.S. Chief Justice lets Trump keep building ballroom — for now Roberts’ administrative stay “is not a final decision on the merits of the government’s stay application, and we await further action,” National Trust said in a statement U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts said President Donald Trump can keep building his massive new White House ballroom for now, giving the Supreme Court more time to consider a longer-term order allowing continued construction. Roberts’ interim order comes after lower courts said Trump was flouting the law by proceeding without congressional authorization. Under a federal appeals court ruling, Trump would have had to stop construction at the end of the day Friday. As is typical, Roberts gave no explanation in his administrative stay, which will remain in effect until either he or the court as a whole issues a superseding order. Trump said on his Truth Social platform he’s “grateful” for Roberts’s order. “The Military/Ballroom Complex being built on the hallowed grounds of the White House, which is so vital for National Security, will be THE GREATEST OF ITS KIND!” Trump wrote. “It is something that Presidents have wanted for 150 years, and that the Military has been seeking for the last 100 years.” Trump has fixated on the project even as he grapples with a Middle East war, a shaky economy and plummeting poll numbers that have put Republicans at risk of losing control of Congress in the November midterms. The project is being challenged by the National Trust for Historic Preservation in the United States, a nonprofit organization chartered by Congress to preserve and promote the country’s architectural and cultural heritage. Roberts’ administrative stay “is not a final decision on the merits of the government’s stay application, and we await further action,” National Trust said in a statement. “The ballroom is a microcosm of a hundred different issues with the Trump administration,” said Lisa Gilbert, co-president of Public Citizen, another organization critical of the ballroom. “This president has usurped the powers reserved for Congress by the Constitution and flouted the law at every turn.” The ballroom has been the centrepiece of Trump’s campaign to remake the White House complex to reflect his own vision of the presidency. His desire to build a ballroom dates back at least to 2011, when he said he had offered to build one for free during Barack Obama’s presidency. The administration says the project is already 65 per cent built and is on track to be finished by August 2028. The preservation group challenging the ballroom accused Trump of trying to make it a “fait accompli” by racing to complete construction. If completed, the facility will be larger than the White House mansion and West Wing combined, with a security bunker underneath. Trump demolished the East Wing to make way for the ornate structure. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said in a 2-1 ruling that the Constitution gives Congress full control over federal property. The majority rejected Trump’s contention that lawmakers authorized the project through a 1978 law that lets the president spend appropriated sums to maintain and improve the White House residence. “Whether or not a massive ballroom should be constructed is for Congress to decide and is not a matter for executive self-help,” wrote Judges Patricia Millett and Bradley Garcia, both Democratic appointees. Republican-appointed Judge Neomi Rao dissented. A key question is whether the National Trust has legal standing to sue over the construction. The appeals court said the group had standing because of the “historic, architectural, and aesthetic interests” at stake, as well as the impact on a National Trust member who frequently passes by the White House. The administration says the ballroom will be funded entirely through $400 million in private donations, though those assertions don’t include the security bunker. Democrats say the administration appears to be diverting almost $400 million that was allocated for the Secret Service last year in Trump’s tax-cut law. Trump has spent much of his second presidential term trying to leave his physical imprint throughout the Washington area. He is also pushing to construct a 250-foot arch and build a championship-level golf course near the Jefferson Memorial. After a board with numerous Trump appointees added his name to the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, a court ordered that it be removed. In each case, the administration did not get explicit congressional approval or funding. Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our newsletters here. Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.