Trump ballroom construction allowed for now, US appeals court

A U.S. appeals court allowed President Donald Trump’s administration on Friday night to continue construction of a $400 million ballroom on the site of the White House’s demolished East Wing, setting a June hearing to review a Washington judge’s order halting the project. An order by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit put the lower court’s preliminary injunction on hold for now, giving the panel time to consider the U.S. Justice Department’s request for a longer pause while the appeal is pending. The appeals court said it will hear arguments on June 5 on whether construction should be stopped during the appeal. The order did not address the merits of the underlying lawsuit, which challenges the Trump administration’s authority to build the ballroom. The National Trust for Historic Preservation, which filed the lawsuit last year, and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment after business hours. Friday’s rul