Supreme Court Lets Trump Continue Building Tacky White House Ballroom

“Construction of the ballroom has proceeded apace for the better part of a year,” Roberts wrote on behalf of the four dissenting justices. “That construction is likely unlawful. Pursuant to its plenary constitutional authority over the District of Columbia and federal property, Congress has explicitly prohibited the construction of any ‘building or structure … on any reservation, park, or public grounds of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia without express authority of Congress.” … The ballroom is a building or structure being erected on federal park grounds—President’s Park—in the District of Columbia. Yet Congress has not passed any law resembling ‘express authority’ for the Executive’s construction of it.”

The conservative majority, in an unsigned decision, rejected the challenge from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which was seeking to halt construction of the ballroom indefinitely. The five justices did not rule on whether construction of the ballroom was in fact legal, but determined that the National Trust lacked the legal right to challenge the project.

“This Court has not found standing in circumstances like these before,” the court’s opinion read. “To the contrary, we have repeatedly held that mere offense, disagreement, or distaste does not qualify.”