WATCH: Trump previews new White House helipad
At times, the president sounded almost like a construction manager, singing the praises of granite over asphalt in painstaking detail and noting for reporters he brought out for the show that the stone could withstand 35,000 pounds per square inch of pressure.
The Trump administration is making a final appeal to the Supreme Court to halt the construction of a White House ballroom, arguing that it is necessary for national security. Solicitor General John Sauer told the court that the project is already beyond the point of no return and is essential for the continuity of government. He maintains that the construction is a "safe room" for the presidency and that the injunction stopping most above-ground work is unnecessary.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation, which brought the case, claims that the administration is exceeding its authority by unilaterally overriding Congress and trying to complete the project before receiving congressional approval. The trust argues that the injunction only affects the construction of the ballroom, not other aspects of White House maintenance and security.
The administration maintains that seeking congressional approval would give Congress too much control over the president. They also argue that a visual dislike of the project is not enough to challenge construction operations. So far, 65% of the project is complete, with a 250-person crew working around the clock to finish it. The Supreme Court is expected to rule on the stay by the end of the week, when the injunction is set to take effect.
Written by urgent.news from ABC News (US)'s reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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