Preservationists Refuse to Drop White House Ballroom Lawsuit Despite DOJ Pressure

The National Trust for Historic Preservation rejected a Justice Department demand Sunday that it withdraw its lawsuit against President Donald Trump's planned $400 million White House ballroom, declaring the shooting at Saturday's White House Correspondents' Dinner changes nothing about the constitutional questions at the center of the case.

Trust attorney Gregory Craig delivered the refusal in writing to the Justice Department after top DOJ officials warned they would seek a court dismissal "in light of last night's extraordinary events" if the preservation group did not voluntarily stand down.

"What Saturday's awful event does not change is that the Constitution and multiple federal statutes require Congress to authorize construction of a ballroom on White House grounds, and that Congress has not done so," Craig wrote in the letter.

Trump and conservative allies moved swiftly to use the dinner shooting — in which a gunman opened fire at the annual media gathering held outside the White House — to argue the ballroom project is a legitimate security necessity. They contend it would allow large presidential events to be held within the more controlled perimeter of the White House complex. The administration has framed the proposed venue, which Trump says would seat 999 guests, as privately funded, though federal dollars are financing a below-ground bunker and security infrastructure tied to the project.

The Trust filed its lawsuit in December, one week after the White House completed demolition of the East Wing to clear the way for above-ground construction. The group argues Trump bypassed legally required approvals from Congress and key federal agencies before breaking ground. A federal appeals court has since allowed subsurface work to continue, even as a lower-court judge blocked above-ground construction and scheduled a June 5 hearing to review the case.

The Justice Department did not respond to requests for comment.

A federal appeals hearing is scheduled for June 5.

This article was generated with AI assistance using publicly available information. It was reviewed and approved by a human editor before publication. TC Sentinel uses AI writing tools in accordance with FTC guidelines.