Chief Justice John Roberts sided with the court’s liberals on Monday in a dispute over the planned White House ballroom, warning that his colleagues’ ruling threatens Congress’ control of federal spending. In a six-page dissent, Roberts said the $400 million project is “likely unlawful” because lawmakers never explicitly signed off on funding, reports the Hill, and he rejected the Trump administration’s claim that the work qualifies as routine White House upkeep. The dissent marks a rare break for Roberts from Trump’s claims to executive power, notes CNN, with the chief justice borrowing a line from Winston Churchill: “‘We shape our buildings, and afterwards our buildings shape us’,” adding, “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.”
The 5-4 majority didn’t decide whether the ballroom itself is legal. Instead, it ruled that a member of the National Trust for Historic Preservation lacked standing to sue, saying her objections amounted to a simple dislike of the project. That cleared the way for above-ground construction to resume on what the administration now calls a national security upgrade. Roberts countered that the plaintiff’s long involvement in historic preservation and her interest in the White House as it currently stands make her injury concrete enough to get into court. “The White House is not just any building,” he wrote, and the decision is “no victory for the separation of powers.”