Construction continues on a new ballroom Aug. 11 on the South Lawn at the White House in Washington, D.C. On Monday, the Supreme Court ruled that ballroom construction could continue. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo
Aug. 31 (UPI) -- The Supreme Court ruled Monday that President Donald Trump's massive, $400 million White House ballroom project can continue -- over dissent from Chief Justice John Roberts and three other justices.
In the 5-4 ruling, the high court said the National Trust for Historical Preservation likely lacks the legal right to challenge the project and that national security reasons favor its continuation. This could give the Trump administration time to finish the project as lawsuits over it continue.
The court did not say if the project was legal. In a dissent, Roberts said that it likely is not, as the project was not approved by Congress.
"The White House is not just any building," he wrote. "In failing to appreciate as much, the court misconceives the plaintiff's injury, allowing the executive's likely infringement of the legislature's power of the purse and authority to regulate federal property in the District of Columbia to continue."
