Chief Justice John Roberts on Friday allowed the White House to continue construction on US President Donald Trump’s US$400 million ballroom project for now, as the Supreme Court considers the Trump administration's emergency request to intervene in lawsuits over the project.

The temporary order came hours before lower-court rulings would have forced a halt to aboveground construction of the project because Trump didn't get congressional approval.

It will remain in place until the top court issues a more durable decision, though the one-page document does not detail Roberts' reasoning or indicate when another ruling will be handed down. Roberts signed the order because he oversees emergency appeals of cases filed in the capital.

Trump thanked the high court and the chief justice during his remarks later Friday during a political appearance in South Carolina.

“When they say proceed, I think that's a good thing. That's a good thing,” he said.

The case is coming before the nation’s highest court as Trump exercises unparalleled assertions of presidential power and increasingly seeks to mould the capital in his own image.

The administration has argued that the president has total authority to renovate the White House and other federal buildings as he sees fit and that the ballroom project must be completed due to national security concerns.

When Trump first announced the plans for a new ballroom, he did not emphasise national security. He said the project would be funded by private donations, including from himself.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation argues that Trump has no unilateral authority to undertake the work, which has included demolishing the East Wing . Lawyers for the preservation group accused the White House of trying to “outrun the courts” by accelerating construction.

A spokesperson for the trust said the order from Roberts is not a final decision and the group is awaiting further action. The full Supreme Court will likely weigh in next on whether construction can continue for the potentially long duration of the lawsuit.

Trump said his administration is grateful for Friday's decision, writing in a social media post that the project is “under budget and ahead of schedule”.

The Trump administration says 65 percent of the work has already been completed on the planned 90,000-square-foot ballroom, where the East Wing stood before the president ordered its demolition .

Crews are working 20 hours a day, seven days a week, on the project, where about US$200 million in private donations has been spent or committed, according to court documents filed by the Justice Department. (AP)



Edited by Robert Kemp