Only Congress can intervene, an administration lawyer said, as an appeals panel weighs whether to halt the project.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration ⁠will ⁠ask an appeals court on Friday to ⁠allow construction of a $400 million ballroom on the site of the White House's demolished ​East Wing, pitting Trump against preservationists in a case testing the limits of presidential authority.

The ballroom has been the source of much debate since Trump had the East Wing of the White House demolished last year to make room for the grandiose design.

Appellate judges appeared split Friday on whether construction for President Donald Trump’s $400 million ballroom should be allowed to continue. Arguments lasted for over two hours, with judges spending much of the time intensely grilling U.

A federal appeals court is set to hear arguments Friday about whether the Trump administration has the authority to build a White House ballroom.

In the year since US President Donald Trump announced plans to build a new ballroom at the White House, the proposals have grown to include a rooftop "drone port", an underground hospital and "top secret" military facilities - and the estimated price has doubled to $400m (£300m).

At issue before the three-judge panel will be what legal authority, if any, Trump had to bulldoze part of the White House without input from lawmakers.

On a warm, sunny Tuesday in May, President Donald Trump invited White House reporters to tour the work site of the crown jewel in his one-man effort to transform the nation’s capital to fit his vision of architectural beauty.