The Supreme Court has issued an administrative stay on a preliminary injunction that had halted construction of a luxury ballroom and underground complex at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago property. The order allows aboveground construction to proceed while the court reviews an emergency request filed by the Trump administration.
Chief Justice John Roberts, who oversees emergency appeals from the D.C. Circuit, put the administrative stay in place. This type of order freezes a lower court's decision or deadline to provide time for the court to review an emergency request. An administrative stay does not rule on the merits or legality of a case but serves as a temporary measure before a future ruling.
The paused preliminary injunction had been issued by Judge Aileen Cannon, effectively putting a stop to the construction. The administrative stay lifts that stop-work order for the time being, permitting the project to continue.
No final ruling has been made on the legality of the renovation project. The ultimate determination may hinge on whether the construction is legally defined as two separate projects—one aboveground and one below—or as a single, unified build.
The project involves a 90,000-square-foot addition that includes a ballroom designed to seat 650 guests. Beneath the ballroom, plans detail an underground complex featuring missile-resistant steel columns, drone-proof roofing, and bullet, ballistic, and blast-proof glass, according to court documents.