The Trump administration has asked the US supreme court to allow construction of the president’s controversial $400m White House ballroom to proceed after an appeals court ordered work to halt.
In a case testing Donald Trump’s presidential authority, the Washington-based US court of appeals for the District of Columbia circuit ruled last week that the controversial project lacked the necessary approval from US Congress.
The US president, who demolished the historic East Wing of the White House last year to make way for the planned ballroom, has repeatedly touted it as “a gift” to the US people. He and his aides have repeatedly cited national security as a benefit of its construction, too.
In a filing, Trump’s administration asked the supreme court justices to keep the decision by the US court of appeals for the District of Columbia circuit on hold while it prepares a full appeal.
“This case involves an extraordinary and unlawful injunction that will halt the ongoing construction of the integrated military complex including a totally secure ballroom space, at the East Wing of the White House, which is vitally required by national security,” D John Sauer, the solicitor general, wrote in the filing.
Chief Justice John Roberts set a deadline of Tuesday for the plaintiffs challenging the project to respond.
The appeals court upheld a lower court’s order blocking aboveground work on the ballroom until Congress grants its approval, but allowed construction on the underground security structure to continue. It also paused its own ruling for two weeks, until 21 August, to give the administration time to lodge its appeal to the supreme court.
The government argues that “every part” of the project is “an integrated whole geared toward remedying security deficiencies and bringing critical improvements to the White House”.
“The entire ballroom structure is designed to shield the military installation beneath it,” Sauer added.
Trump’s administration has appealed a number of lower court decisions to the supreme court this week, in the wake of temporary injunctions over the president’s attempts to curb mail-in voting.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation, which sued to block the ballroom’s construction, said on Friday: “The administration brazenly asserted to the DC Circuit Court of Appeals that even if Ballroom construction were unlawful, not even the supreme court had authority to stop it.
“The administration’s transparent efforts to evade the rule of law, frustrate judicial review, and limit the availability of meaningful relief in the courts must stop here. The supreme court should deny the administration’s demand that it be allowed to continue ballroom construction while it appeals.”
