A U.S. appeals court blocked the construction of a $400 million ballroom at the White House, initiated by President Donald Trump, reports UNN, citing Sky News.
A federal appeals court ordered the Trump administration to halt construction of the ballroom on the site of the demolished East Wing of the White House.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, located in Washington, upheld a preliminary injunction issued at the request of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Last year, the nonprofit organization filed a lawsuit after the administration demolished the East Wing and began construction of a 90,000-square-foot (8,360-square-meter) ballroom without congressional approval.
The judge also stayed the block on the project for 14 days to give the Trump administration an opportunity to appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Trump appealed after U.S. District Judge Richard Leon twice blocked above-ground construction at the site while allowing underground work to continue. Leon, appointed by former Republican President George W. Bush, ruled that no federal law "comes close to giving the president" the authority needed to build the ballroom without congressional approval.
The administration argues that the plan is necessary for holding large official events and ensuring the security of the White House.
This is the largest of Trump's attempts to alter the appearance of central Washington, which is made up of government buildings and national landmarks.
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Justice Department attorney Yaakov Roth said during a hearing before the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals on June 5 that courts should not intervene in the review of a privately funded project and that blocking it at any stage would be improper.
Roth said that the National Trust's "architectural preferences" against the ballroom should not take precedence over national security considerations, citing evidence that the former East Wing left the president and others in the White House vulnerable to attack.
However, Thaddeus Hoyer, an attorney for the historic preservation group, objected: "They simply do not want to go to Congress."