A divided Supreme Court on Monday allowed the White House to continue construction on a USD 400 million ballroom project as lawsuits play out, a win for President Donald Trump as he flexes unprecedented executive power and remakes the capital in his image. The decision replaces a temporary order from Chief Justice John Roberts previously issued hours before a lower-court decision halting the work would have gone into effect. Roberts publicly dissented from the latest order, however, joining with the court's three liberal-leaning justices, who called the construction "likely unlawful."

The majority did not decide the legality of the project, but found a preservation group likely did not have the legal right to challenge it. The lawsuit will return to lower courts, but documents say that key portions of the project could be complete within months - a quick timeline compared with a typical legal case. The Trump administration asked the justices to intervene after federal courts found the project must halt because it didn't have congressional approval.