President Donald Trump thanked the Supreme Court on Friday after Chief Justice John Roberts allowed construction on his $400 million White House ballroom to continue.
“We are grateful for the Decision of the United States Supreme Court,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
Roberts on Friday cleared construction to proceed on Trump’s $400 million White House ballroom while the Supreme Court reviews the administration’s emergency appeal. Trump said the project, which he called the “Military/Ballroom Complex,” is important to national security and will be “THE GREATEST OF ITS KIND.”
He also said presidents have sought such a facility for 150 years and that the military has wanted one for a century.
“It is something that Presidents have wanted for 150 years, and that the Military has been seeking for the last 100 years. Their wish will soon be fulfilled! Construction is under budget and ahead of schedule, ” Trump wrote.
Roberts’ decision came just hours before lower-court rulings were set to halt aboveground construction. The one-page order will stay in effect until the Supreme Court takes further action. It did not explain the chief justice’s reasoning or say when the court would rule again.
The order placed on hold a Washington judge’s ruling that the project could not proceed without approval from Congress. Roberts issued the order because he handles emergency appeals from cases filed in the nation’s capital.
The Trump administration has won several cases on the Supreme Court’s emergency docket, although the justices have rejected some of Trump’s policies after conducting a full review.
Administration lawyers argue that the president has broad authority to make changes to the White House and other federal properties. They also say the ballroom must be completed because of national security needs.
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