{"text":[[{"start":10.28,"text":"The US Supreme Court has allowed construction on Donald Trump’s $400mn White House ballroom project to continue in a boost to the president’s efforts to remake the American capital."}],[{"start":21.28,"text":"The justices said on Monday that construction of the ballroom — a 90,000 sq ft event space that will replace the East Wing Trump demolished in October — can continue as his administration appeals a lower court’s order to halt work because the project had not been approved by Congress."}],[{"start":37.78,"text":"The ruling all but guarantees that the structure could be finished before the legal fight is resolved, although Chief Justice John Roberts, joined by the court’s three liberal justices, wrote in dissent that the construction is probably unlawful."}],[{"start":50.92,"text":"“Winston Churchill once remarked that ‘[w]e shape our buildings, and afterwards our buildings shape us,’” the chief justice said. “All the more reason to ensure that those responsible follow the rules in deciding what to tear down and what to build up at the People’s House.”"}],[{"start":64.88,"text":"Trump has framed the makeover as a necessary national security upgrade amid mounting assassination attempts and suggested that the project is too far gone to stop. The court cited those assessments in its ruling."}],[{"start":77.2,"text":"The ballroom is one of the president’s many pet projects that has been bogged down by legal challenges, such as his efforts to remake the Kennedy Center, build a so-called Triumphal Arch and overhaul a nearby golf course."}],[{"start":89.52,"text":"He announced last summer that the $200mn cost of the ballroom would be funded by private donors. Since then, the reported price has doubled as its capacity has expanded from 650 seats to roughly 1,000."}],[{"start":103.4,"text":"Tech giants Google and Meta, crypto companies Coinbase and Tether, and defence contractor Lockheed Martin are among those that have made donations."}],[{"start":112.08,"text":"Trump said in a post on Truth Social after the ruling that the project was under budget and ahead of schedule."}],[{"start":117.68,"text":"“We are living in the Golden Age of America, and this Building will be one of the Greatest ever constructed in Washington, D.C.,” the president said. “When completed in the Summer of 2028, the magnificent Ballroom and Military Complex will be something that the entire Country is very proud of.”"}],[{"start":134.08,"text":"Though the white and gold space is set to host state dinners, galas and other events, the Trump administration told the Supreme Court that a bunker being built under the ballroom is just as important."}],[{"start":147.345,"text":"Solicitor-general D John Sauer argued that “every part” of the project was geared towards improving security deficiencies and the ballroom’s entire structure is designed to “shield the military installation beneath it”."}],[{"start":160.04,"text":"“Halting the project will stall this vital construction, making this president — the subject of recurrent assassination attempts — much less safe, and risking future presidents’ safety,” he said."}],[{"start":172,"text":"The administration has also suggested that construction of the ballroom is “beyond the point of return”."}],[{"start":177.6,"text":"In their unsigned order, the justices said the Trump administration would probably “prevail against the challenge” in the lower court for procedural reasons but added they were not deciding the legality of the project."}],[{"start":189.4,"text":"The National Trust for Historic Preservation, which brought the case, told the court that over the past three fiscal years Congress has appropriated just short of $2.5mn annually for maintenance of the White House executive residence."}],[{"start":202.56,"text":"But “that is all Congress did”, the group’s lawyers wrote, contending that lawmakers did not authorise spending in excess of that amount or for funds to be directed towards other projects such as the “massive ballroom”."}],[{"start":216.04,"text":"“Rather than obtain permission from Congress, petitioners have instead decided to try to outrun judicial review,” they said."}],[{"start":223.2,"text":"The appropriations clause of the US constitution dictates that all money the federal government spends must be appropriated by Congress."}],[{"start":235.9,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1788232651_3607.mp3"}