US court orders halt to Trump ballroom construction

A US appeals court has ordered a halt to the construction of a ballroom at the White House, sparking a potential battle at the Supreme Court over presidential authority. The court ruled 2-1 that the construction, which was started without congressional approval, must be stopped until explicit approval is obtained from Congress. The East Wing of the White House was demolished last year to make way for the 8,360-square-metre ballroom.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation had filed a lawsuit against the administration over the construction, which was estimated to cost $400 million, according to ABC News AU. The court stated that each president is a "temporary tenant, not the owner" of the White House and therefore cannot fundamentally reshape it without congressional approval.

President Donald Trump has stated that he will appeal the decision, calling it "horrible". The appeals court's order will not take effect for two weeks, giving the White House time to seek review by the US Supreme Court. Trump also mentioned on social media that "much of the work has been done and paid for".

Brief written by urgent.news from Punch Nigeria, New Voice of Ukraine, ABC News AU, Le Monde English — 4 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.