The Justice Department has asked the Supreme Court to intervene and block a D.C. Circuit ruling earlier this month that requires congressional approval for the White House ballroom project.
The Trump administration had submitted a request for emergency relief by Joshua Fisher, the director for White House Management and Administration and in charge of the project.
The disclosure came in court documents filed on Tuesday, August 18, as part of an ongoing legal feud over the Kennedy Centre’s future.
Just last week, the Kennedy Centre board again voted to close the venue for a multiyear renovation and to carve Trump’s name into its marble front.
If the Supreme Court fails to act by Friday, August 21, the D.C. Circuit’s decision will come into force and force a halt to ballroom construction.
The latest court filings in these cases offer an insight into the scope and length of the construction work that continues at the White House on the site of the now-grounded East Room and President Trump’s vision for the Kennedy Centre.
The ballroom is being constructed with a pool of private funds, which have amassed so far $355 million of $400 million, Fisher stated in court documents.
He revealed that with 250 workers on-site working 20 hours a day, seven days a week, the project has reached 65% of its actual plan, with the completion expected to end in November next year.
The exterior work will be completed by April, while the complete finish is expected by August 2028, according to Fisher.
By then, Trump will have only five months left of his second term in office.
