Preservation group urges Supreme Court to suspend Trump's White House ballroom project

WASHINGTON (AP) — A historic preservation group that sued to block construction of President Donald Trump's White House ballroom urged the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday to suspend the project while it considers whether the work can continue.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation filed its request less than a week after the Trump administration asked the nation's highest court to allow the White House to continue construction on its $400 million ballroom project .

Lawyers for the trust argued that “rather than obtain permission from Congress, petitioners have instead decided to try to outrun judicial review.”

The building of the 90,000-square-foot (8,400-square-meter) ballroom has included demolishing the East Wing of the White House and is part of Trump’s plans to quickly remake Washington .

The petition comes after a divided appeals court panel upheld an order to pause aboveground construction on the project. The ruling was suspended to let the administration appeal.

The ruling left intact an order by U.S. District Judge Richard Leon, who was nominated by Republican President George W. Bush. Leon wrote that “no statute comes close to giving the President the authority he claims to have.”

The administration argues that the president, not Congress or the courts, has unimpeded authority to renovate the White House. The current state of the project, essentially an open construction site, makes it harder to protect the White House, the Justice Department contends.

The administration also says the National Trust for Historic Preservation does not have the legal right, or standing, to sue over the ballroom.