US Supreme Court clears way for Trump to keep building White House ballroom

The US Supreme Court has ruled that construction of a $400m (£297m) ballroom at the White House can go ahead, handing a win to President Donald Trump.In a 5-4 ruling, the justices granted the Trump administration's emergency request, blocking lower court rulings that would have halted construction of an above-ground portion of the project.But Chief Justice John Roberts, a conservative, sided with the three liberal justices to dissent, writing that "construction is likely unlawful" because Congress has not approved the project.The National Trust for Historic Preservation filed the legal challenge, arguing that the president did not have unilateral authority to proceed with construction.Trump demolished the historic East Wing of the executive residence last autumn to begin building the ballroom. The White House has said the project will be "substantially" finished by November and fully completed by August 2028.On Friday, the high court had temporarily allowed construction of the 90,000 sq ft (8,400 sq m) ballroom to move forward while the high court considered the lawsuit aiming to halt it entirely. In Monday's unsigned order, the five justices who cleared the way for construction said lower court judges had "likely exceeded" their authority in blocking the ballroom.