President Trump has requested the Supreme Court to allow construction of the White House ballroom to proceed.
The emergency application for an immediate stay was filed with Chief Justice John Roberts.
“This case involves an extraordinary and unlawful injunction that will halt the ongoing construction of the integrated military complex, including a totally secure ballroom space, at the East Wing of the White House, which is vitally required by national security,” U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote in the filing. Sauer goes on to detail the numerous threats President Trump has faced, arguing that the “updated East Wing complex is absolutely required and should not be enjoined.”
He went on to declare that the district court’s ruling blocking the ballroom’s construction “wrongly viewed the President as a mere ‘tenant’ of the White House … with the district judge as his de facto landlord.” Sauer added, “The President of the United States of America is not a tenant, but rather the sole, elected head of the Executive Branch, and Congress has authorized him to renovate, secure, and protect the White House and its grounds, as other Presidents have been allowed to do, without exception.”
Earlier this month, a federal appeals court panel blocked President Trump’s ballroom construction in a 2-1 vote, saying that work must cease except for below-ground construction.
“We are aware of no instance in American history in which a President unilaterally and using privately collected funds demolished substantial portions of the White House that Congress authorized to be built and American taxpayers paid for. Until now,” the majority wrote. “The Defendants have not shown that Congress delegated that authority to either the President or the National Park Service,” the ruling added. “Whether or not a massive ballroom should be constructed is for Congress to decide and is not a matter for Executive self-help.”
