Assassination scare sparks calls for WH ballroom. Where does it stand?

Within hours of gunfire interrupting the White House Correspondents' Association dinner on April 25 in a brazen third attempt on President Donald Trump's life, he and his allies rallied behind his already-planned $400 million ballroom project as a security solution.

For years, the annual event has been held at the Washington Hilton, but an armed man shooting at the Secret Service inside the hotel has created a new justification for the controversial construction plan for a massive addition to the White House that would dwarf the main building itself.

The work has already been blocked by one federal judge, then unblocked by a federal appeals court, and slammed by Democrats as too costly and glitzy at a time when Americans are struggling with basic costs. Currently, the ballroom construction continues while a lawsuit by the National Trust for Historic Preservation plays out.

The president, however, said on social media on April 26, the shooting is "exactly the reason" that a "secure ballroom" with an underground bunker is needed. The accused shooter, Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, was formally charged on April 27 with attempting to assassinate Trump and with multiple weapons charges. Allen could face life in prison if convicted.

"This event would never have happened with the militarily top secret ballroom currently under construction at the White House," Trump said in an April 26 post on Truth Social.

"It cannot be built fast enough! While beautiful, it has every highest level security feature there is plus, there are no rooms sitting on top for unsecured people to pour in, and is inside the gates of the most secure building in the world, The White House."

House Speaker Mike Johnson told Fox News on April 27 that the shooting was "surreal," as Secret Service rushed him to safety. He said a proposed White House ballroom is a necessary solution as it will be on "the most secure compound in the world."

Johnson said the ballroom won't have hotel rooms above it like the Hilton − where the accused shooter was a registered guest − and it would feature "seven-inch thick glass" on the windows to provide a safe environment for large events.

"We need a place, and we have needed a place like that, and the president keeps pointing that out," Johnson said.

Conservative activists online and Republicans on Capitol Hill echoed that sentiment in the wake of the shooting, expressing concern at the lapse in security.

A lawsuit filed in December by the National Trust for Historic Preservation against Trump and several federal agencies sought to halt construction on the 90,000-square-foot ballroom, which would be almost twice the size of the 55,000-square-foot White House. The nonprofit group is arguing that the president should have sought authorization from Congress before bulldozing the East Wing.

Republican lawmakers and the administration are now seeking to swiftly approve the idea, which U.S. District Court Judge Richard J. Leon blocked twice in the past month. A federal appeals court on April 17 allowed the ballroom construction to continue while the suit claiming that the work is unlawful proceeds through the courts.

Trump has argued that neither Congress nor the courts should interfere with the project because it is being privately funded. 

The National Capital Planning Commission, headed by Trump appointees, approved the project.

Dozens of big-name contributors have been released, including Amazon, Apple, Comcast, Google, T-Mobile, and Palantir Technologies. Ethics watchdogs have flagged concerns that these donations could buy favorable regulatory treatment from the federal government, while the White House counters that critics would complain if the project were funded by taxpayers.

"The ridiculous ballroom lawsuit, brought by a woman walking her dog, who has absolutely no standing to bring such a suit, must be dropped, immediately," Trump continued in his April 26 post. "Nothing should be allowed to interfere with its construction, which is on budget and substantially ahead of schedule!!!"

DOJ pressures nonprofit to drop its lawsuit

The Justice Department is urging the National Trust for Historic Preservation to drop its amended lawsuit against the construction of Trump's White House ballroom.

"Yesterday's assassination attempt on President Trump proves, yet again, that the White House ballroom is essential for the safety and security of the president, his family, his cabinet and his staff," Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate wrote in an April 26 letter to National Trust lawyer Greg Craig that acting Attorney General Todd Blanche posted on social media.

Shumate wrote that when the ballroom is completed, the president and his successors "will no longer need to venture beyond the safety of the White House perimeter to attend large gatherings at the Washington Hilton ballroom."

The letter assumes the White House Correspondents' Association would agree to hold its annual dinner in a future White House ballroom, but there's no guarantee. Trump has previously skipped the annual event.

In his letter, Shumate also told Craig that "your client should voluntarily dismiss this frivolous lawsuit today in light of last night's [shooting]." Shumate warned Craig, a former lawyer in President Bill Clinton's administration, had until 9 a.m. ET April 27 for the National Trust to drop its lawsuit, or the DOJ will seek to dismiss it.

National Trust says it has no plans to drop lawsuit

Carol Quillen, President and CEO of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, said in a statement provided to USA TODAY that while they are grateful to law enforcement for keeping everyone safe at the event, their position stands.

"We are not planning to voluntarily dismiss our lawsuit, which endangers no one and which respectfully asks the Administration to follow the law. Ballroom construction is continuing unabated until June 5th at the earliest because the injunction is on hold," Quillen said. "We have always acknowledged the utility of a larger meeting space at the White House.

"Building it lawfully requires the approval of Congress, which the Administration could seek at any time," Quillen added.

In response to Shutmate, Craig wrote in an April 26 response letter that the assertion that the National Trust's lawsuit puts "the President’s life at 'grave risk' is incorrect and irresponsible.

"Simply put, this case does not jeopardize the President’s safety in any way. And nothing prevents you from asking Congress at any time for the necessary authorization required by the Constitution and federal law," Craig wrote to Shumate.

"The National Trust has consistently maintained that this lawsuit is not about whether there should be a ballroom, but whether the President must follow the law," Craig continued.

The Justice Department did not immediately return USA TODAY's requests for comment.

Congressional Republicans are moving quickly to gain authority, ‘sideline’ courts

Several GOP lawmakers have stepped forward with proposals for Congress to give the ballroom a greenlight, calling it “an embarrassment” that the United States cannot host gatherings without the threat of violence.

“A president of any party should be able to host events in a secure area without attendees worrying about their safety,” Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Montana, said in an April 26 post on X.

“This is common sense. Let’s get it done.”

Sheehy is seeking unanimous consent for legislation that would provide express approval for the construction of the ballroom.  

Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colorado, also said in an April 26 post on X that she is working on a measure that would ensure the construction moves forward even as she said Congress’ approval isn’t needed.

Some House Republicans had tried to insert explicit language for the project in a spending bill earlier in the year regarding immigration operations.

“I don’t believe congressional approval is required for the project, but if it’ll keep activist judges on the sideline, so be it,” Boebert said.

Democrats on Capitol Hill haven’t said much about the ballroom in the wake of the shooting, but at least one, Sen. John Fetterman, of Pennsylvania, endorsed the idea. He attended the correspondent’s dinner, adding that the Hilton isn’t equipped to hold an event with such important U.S. officials present.

“After witnessing last night, drop the TDS and build the White House ballroom for events exactly like these,” he said, referencing “Trump derangement syndrome,” the perceived irrational and extremely emotional criticisms of the president.

Since the demolition began, Democrats have mostly used the ballroom project as a political piñata.

Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in an April 10 interview on MS Now that the construction represented a “huge disconnect” between wealthy supporters and Americans struggling with rising costs – “the kinds of people who can put millions of dollars into the building of a gilded ballroom at the White House for the president's fancy dinner parties, and everybody else from my neighbors in Michigan to the people that I'm meeting on the road,” Buttigieg said.

Other Trump foes are bemoaning how the project has destroyed the historic East Wing, which typically housed the first lady’s staff.

“It's not his house,” former first lady Hillary Clinton, who Trump bested in the 2016 presidential election, said in a post on X last October.

"It’s not his house. It’s your house," said Clinton, also a former secretary of state. "And he’s destroying it."

Contributing: Bart Jansen