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.
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.