Construction of the underground and above ground portions of US President Donald Trump's White House ballroom will be allowed to continue, an appeals court has ruled.
The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia granted an administrative stay after the Trump administration appealed against US District Judge Richard Leon's decision to halt above-ground construction.
Construction is now expected to continue until the next hearing, which is due to take place on June 5.
This week's rulings came after the appeals court ordered the judge to reconsider the national security implications of halting the work after he temporarily blocked all construction of the ballroom in March.
The ruling marks a victory for the president in his effort to redesign the storied American structure.
Leon indicated that he believed the project required congressional approval and remarked that the administration's reclassification of the ballroom plans as vital for national security seemed to be an attempt to bypass legal protocols.
National security is not a blank cheque to proceed with otherwise unlawful activity, he stated.
Following the ruling, Trump expressed his dissatisfaction via social media, asserting that the judge was impeding future leaders' security during meetings.
The Justice Department has argued that stopping this project poses risks to national security and would create an unsafe gap near the Executive Residence.
The ballroom project, which will accommodate 1,350 guests, follows the demolition of the East Wing, originally built in 1902. The total cost is estimated at $400 million, financed entirely through private donations.
