On Friday, President Donald Trump appealed to the Supreme Court to allow the continuation of the construction of a ballroom in the White House. This came a week after a federal appeals court upheld a judicial ban on the continuation of the $400 million project.
The Trump administration is seeking for the Supreme Court to immediately overturn a lower court’s preliminary injunction on further construction at the site of the former East Wing of the White House. The president demolished the East Wing last year without notifying Congress.
Court injunction and national security justification
The decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia on August 7 upheld the court injunction issued by a federal district judge. Currently, this injunction is set to take effect next Friday, August 21.
Trump is increasingly asserting that the construction of the ballroom is a matter of national security and military readiness, as it will feature what he calls a “drone port” on its roof.
In a statement submitted to the Supreme Court on Friday, U.S. Solicitor General J. D. Sauer emphasized the building’s function as a military facility. “This case concerns an extraordinary and unlawful judicial injunction that will halt the ongoing construction of an integrated military complex, including a fully secured ballroom, which is vital to national security,” wrote Sauer.
He also noted that if the appeals court’s injunction takes effect, it “improperly makes a single district judge the sole arbiter of what further construction is ‘strictly necessary’ to protect the security of the President, his family, staff, and visitors to the White House, including foreign dignitaries, as well as presidents and prime ministers of other countries.”
Source: CNBC
