The Supreme Court Let Trump’s Ballroom Proceed—for Now. Here’s What That Means

The U.S. Supreme Court has temporarily allowed President Donald Trump to continue construction on a new White House ballroom while the legal challenge brought by the National Trust for Historic Preservation is resolved. Chief Justice John Roberts issued a one-sentence order staying a federal district court judge's injunction that halted further development. The move buys the Supreme Court more time to consider the Trump Administration's request to keep the injunction on hold.

The National Trust argues that the President does not have the legal authority to unilaterally make a major, permanent change to federally owned property without Congress's approval, referring to the Property Clause of the Constitution. The court has not yet ruled on the legality of the project, but the injunction was lifted temporarily to give the Court more time to review the case. In his ruling, Roberts stated that each President is only a "temporary tenant, not the owner," of the White House.

The Trump Administration has appealed the decision to the full Supreme Court, seeking a further review of their request to keep the injunction on hold. The construction project, estimated at $400 million, includes a 90,000-square-foot luxury ballroom and an underground military complex featuring protected missile-resistant materials. Lower courts treated the two components separately, but the Administration now argues that the entire project is integrated.