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President Trump scored a victory at the Supreme Court on Monday as the justices ruled that construction of his planned White House ballroom may continue, rejecting an effort to halt the massive project.

In a 5-4 decision, the court turned aside a challenge brought by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which had sought to stop work on the ballroom, a project expected to cost at least $400 million.

The court’s unsigned majority opinion concluded that the National Trust likely lacks the legal standing necessary to pursue its challenge in federal court.

The ruling allows construction on the ballroom to proceed after work on the project had already been underway at the White House.

The justices, however, did not decide the broader question at the heart of the dispute: whether President Trump has the legal authority to undertake the construction project without first obtaining approval from Congress. The National Trust had argued that the absence of congressional authorization made the project unlawful and warranted stopping construction.

“Today, we do not pass upon the legality of the government’s East Wing project. We conclude only that, based on the submissions before us, the government is likely to prevail in showing that the Trust lacks … standing to challenge the project in federal court,” the court said.

Chief Justice John Roberts broke with the court’s other conservatives and joined the three liberal justices in dissent, going further than the majority by asserting that the ongoing construction is likely illegal.

“Construction of the ballroom has proceeded apace for the better part of a year. That construction is likely unlawful,” Roberts wrote.

{Matzav.com}

President Donald Trump was sending a pointed warning to Tehran when he posted on social media about Iran’s vital Kharg Island energy hub being destroyed, Vice President JD Vance said Monday, even as U.S. officials confirmed that American forces had not attacked the island.

“The president likes to switch it up on social ⁠media a little bit. He would be the first to say he doesn’t make announcements about ⁠military actions on social media, but I think that he’s sending a message to the Iranians,” Vance said when questioned about Trump’s post.

Trump published the brief message Sunday along with an AI-generated video depicting the destruction of Kharg Island. A U.S. official said Monday that the island had not been targeted during American military strikes overnight, while an Iranian official characterized Trump’s post as “laughable.”

Kharg Island is a critical component of Iran’s oil infrastructure and handled roughly 90% of the country’s oil exports before the war began with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Feb. 28. An attack on the facility could severely cripple Iran’s ability to export oil and place enormous additional strain on the country’s economy.

The U.S. did, however, carry out military strikes against Iranian targets in what an American official described as the first known U.S. attacks since late July. According to the official, American forces struck two Iranian launchers located on Larak Island.

{Matzav.com}