A divided Supreme Court on Monday allowed the White House to continue construction on a $400 million ballroom project as lawsuits play out, a win for President Donald Trump as he flexes unprecedented executive power and remakes the capital in his image.
Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, “I am pleased to report that the United States Supreme Court has just ruled in favor of the Ballroom/Military Complex being built without any further contingency, doubt, or threat.”
The apparent 5-4 decision replaces a temporary order issued earlier this month, shortly before a court-ordered halt would have gone into effect.
That temporary order was signed by Chief Justice John Roberts, assigned to handle appeals from the capital. But he publicly disagreed with the latest decision, writing a strong dissent that referenced the nation’s history and said the project is likely unlawful because it hasn’t been approved by Congress.
“Today’s decision is no victory for the separation of powers.” Roberts wrote. The court’s three liberal-leaning justices agreed.
The majority, on the other hand, found the National Trust for Historic Preservation likely did not have the legal right to challenge the project.
The unsigned order pointed to government arguments that the ballroom would address national security concerns by shielding a planned underground military installation and offering a more secure structure for large events than the tents currently used.
By contrast, “the only harm the Trust claims is the offense one of its members will suffer from having to view a structure of the ‘scale,’ ‘height,’ and ‘massing’ the government intends,” it states.
Hunt them down
Yeah but Harris didn’t do enough for the proletariat.
Mel Brooks did an absurdist spy show back in the 1960s. Austin Powers owes a lot to ‘Get Smart.’ The show had ridiculous gimmicks like The Cone Of Silence, designed to prevent anyone from hearing conversations, including the participants. There were rotary dial shoe phones.
Never once did the comedy genius Mel Brooks come up with something as ridiculous as a combination ballroom/military complex.
But Hitler did, the Nazis literally built the bunker under a giant ballroom project. Wonder where old orange douche canoe got the idea.
Ugh, you libs are all the same. Just because he’s invading other countries and rounding up minorities and silencing press and trying to persecute his political enemies and threatening citizens for their political views and he’s renaming everything after him while tearing down the things that made our nation good and building a bunker under a ballroom and appointing people who use Nazi rhetoric from official US Twitter accounts and in speeches and talking like we already own the whole world and they’re all being TDS when the don’t behave in such a way doesn’t mean he’s a Nazi!
Funny how rarely you hear about Godwin’s Law these days…
Godwin’s Law literally gave cover to Nazis when people were trying to point them out.
It was cancelled in 2017.
I didn’t realize that was by Mel Brooks (I was very young when I watched it). Makes sense in hindsight. I loved that show as a kid.
Add it to the teardown list
I’m not kidding when I say, I’m not voting for a Democrat for president that doesn’t have teardown and prosecute policies in their campaign platform. There are more important issues, but these are the easy things. If a candidate can’t get these right, they cannot be trusted with the more complex issues.
I’m not sure there are more important issues. Teardown and prosecute are prerequisites for anything else.
I agree with this. Any candidate needs the moral clarity to declare that trump is not who we are and not who we will be. That we’re serious about scrubbing out his stain
And to the Trump reimbursement list. Demolition and rebuilding costs will be coming out of his end, and he will reimburse the taxpayers for what he spent. Same with all of his nonsense, like the reflecting pool, etc. He should also have to pay for the Iran War.
Soooo fuckin’ stoopid.
The next Democratic admin should completely revamp it and point out they are doing it legally.
No, they should tear it down immediately. Don’t pretend like an authoritarian monument needs proper review before its destruction. They can take their time and submit plans for the rebuild, but the ballroom needs to come down without pussy footing around giving the Court time to decide that now it’s not ok.
The only better result would be letting them say no before giving them the finger and doing it anyway because their whole lot is corrupt and illegitimate.
What makes you think there will be a next democratic admin? Fascists don’t build bunkers and systems of authoritarian entrenchment just to leave.
Oh, it’s a military complex now. Sure will be interesting to learn everything they’re building into this “ballroom”.
It’s all coming down with a wrecking ball when the regime falls.
$800 million ballroom.
