The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Aug. 14 to let construction continue on President Donald Trump's White House ballroom while the legal fight over the project proceeds, warning that an injunction due to take effect on Aug. 21 would halt substantial above-ground work at an advanced stage. In the emergency appeal, Solicitor General John Sauer called the order "extraordinary and unlawful," arguing that lower courts were wrong to conclude Trump lacks authority to overhaul the White House without congressional approval. The administration says the project is on time, under budget and funded without taxpayer dollars, and told the court that 65% of the work has been completed, with $200 million spent or committed so far. It said a 250-person crew is working 20 hours a day, seven days a week, on a structure described as five stories deep and 70 feet above ground across 50,000 square feet. White House director of management and administration Joshua Fisher said the concrete-and-steel superstructure is now "beyond the point of no return" and cannot safely be left unfinished. The National Trust for Historic Preservation sued over the project, and a federal district judge ruled that above-ground construction must stop while allowing below-ground work and other measures needed to protect national security and the president's safety. A divided U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upheld that ruling earlier this month. The administration argues the National Trust lacks standing and says federal law has long allowed presidents to carry out the care, maintenance, repair, alteration, refurbishment and improvement of the Executive Residence. Sauer told the justices that stopping construction would put the president and his family at risk, citing six recent assassination attempts and what he described as a threat of a missile attack against Air Force One on July 8. The filing also included sworn declarations from senior officials including the secretary of state, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the heads of the FBI and Secret Service to support the national-security case for the ballroom. The Supreme Court is expected to seek a response from the National Trust before deciding whether to grant a stay, and the administration also plans to ask for expedited review on the merits. Separately, Senate Democrats asked the Government Accountability Office to audit the project and its funding, citing concerns over transparency, historic preservation and the use of public and private money. Their request came even as the administration said zero taxpayer dollars are needed or required, a claim that contrasted with the White House's earlier $1 billion funding request to Congress for White House hardening and enhancements that lawmakers have widely linked to the ballroom.