The Supreme Court on Friday ruled that President Donald Trump’s $400 million White House ballroom project can continue after a lower court ruling stopped the project.
Chief Justice John Roberts signed a temporary order allowing the work to continue as the court considers an emergency appeal from the Trump administration, The Associated Press reported.
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Earlier this month, an appeals court upheld a district judge’s order blocking all construction, saying it must have congressional approval. On Trump’s behalf, Solicitor General D. John Sauer filed an emergency application to the Supreme Court a week later.
The appeals court ruling was supposed to take effect today before the Supreme Court intervened, according to the AP.
The White House argued that Trump, as president, has the authority to renovate the White House and other federal buildings. The administration contends that completing the ballroom is a matter of national security, despite not initially making those claims.
Trump also previously said the project would be funded solely by private donors. But The Washington Post previously reported that the cost could balloon to as much as $600 million, half of which could come from taxpayer-backed sources.
The administration, according to the AP, said the project is about 65% completed, with crews working 20 hours a day every day of the week. The ballroom is planned to be a 90,000-square-foot building with underground bunkers.