President Trump scored a significant legal victory Monday after the Supreme Court cleared the way for construction of his planned White House ballroom to continue, lifting a lower court restriction that had blocked above-ground work.
The justices ruled 5-4 in favor of allowing construction to proceed while the broader legal fight continues.
The majority included Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett.
Chief Justice John Roberts joined liberal Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson in dissent.
The dispute centers on a lawsuit brought by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which argues that President Trump exceeded his authority by moving forward with the project without additional congressional approval.
The Supreme Court majority, however, concluded that the organization likely lacks standing to sue based on one member’s objections to the ballroom.
“This Court has not found standing in circumstances like these before,” the unsigned opinion stated. “To the contrary, we have repeatedly held that mere offense, disagreement, or distaste does not qualify.”
That is a pretty important distinction.
Federal courts are supposed to resolve actual legal injuries, not simply function as emergency complaint departments whenever somebody dislikes a government construction project.
The ruling does not settle the ultimate question of whether the ballroom project is lawful. The case could continue winding its way through the courts and potentially return to the Supreme Court later.
For now, though, the bulldozers, cranes and construction crews can keep moving.
Court filings indicate that roughly 250 workers are operating on the project for 20 hours a day, seven days a week.
President Trump demolished the East Wing last fall to make room for the planned 90,000-square-foot ballroom on the White House grounds.
The administration argues that the project has already received the necessary approvals and does not require congressional funding because it is being financed privately.
Solicitor General D. John Sauer also warned that allowing the preservation group’s lawsuit to proceed could create an absurdly broad standard for standing.
He argued that it “would open the courthouse doors to any of the millions of people who visit government buildings, historic sites or parks and happen to think that they dislike something they see.”
Chief Justice Roberts disagreed with the majority’s approach.
“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,” Roberts wrote.
“Today’s decision is no victory for the separation of powers.”
He also stressed that “The White House is not just any building.”
The administration has increasingly argued that the ballroom project also involves national security concerns.
Justice Department filings referenced several threats and attacks involving President Trump, including the Butler, Pennsylvania, rally shooting and the incident near his Florida golf course.
Officials also cited an alleged plot involving the White House UFC event and a shooting connected to the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.
According to government filings, the ballroom structure is already about 65 percent complete, extending five stories below ground and rising approximately 70 feet.
That makes a sudden construction halt considerably more complicated than simply telling a contractor to put down a hammer and come back next year.
The preservation group maintains that President Trump is essentially a temporary occupant of the White House and does not possess unlimited authority to make major alterations.
“If Petitioners believe there is a pressing need for a ballroom, nothing prevents them from asking Congress for one, today, tomorrow, or any time in the future,” the group argued.
For the moment, however, the Supreme Court has removed the lower court obstacle.
President Trump wanted the ballroom built, the administration fought to keep construction moving, and the Supreme Court just handed him the legal breathing room to do exactly that.
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