The DOJ wants the conservative group to drop the White House football case now
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The Justice Department is cracking down on the leading opponents of President Donald Trump’s $400 million privately funded ballroom project, asking lawyers for the National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP) to drop their lawsuit.
“[Y]our case puts the lives of the president, his family, and his staff at grave risk,” Assistant Attorney General for Human Rights Brett Shumate wrote in a Sunday letter to opposing counsel, written on X by Attorney General Todd Blanche.
“Enough” continued Shumate. Your client should voluntarily dismiss this frivolous lawsuit today because of yesterday’s assassination attempt on President Trump. “
Shumate swore and asserted that if the NTHP does not withdraw by 9 o’clock Monday morning, it will remove the order prohibiting the construction of the ballroom and dismiss the case.
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President Donald Trump has long warned that the blockade of his $400 million ballroom puts the White House and the Cabinet at risk, and Saturday night’s assassination attempt was good evidence, leading the Department of Justice to warn of a lawsuit blocking its construction. (Aaron Schwartz/CNP/Bloomberg)
“It’s time to build a ballroom,” Blanche admitted, in her X post, echoing Trump’s words during a White House briefing after escaping his third attempt to kill a gunman rushing to the Correspondents’ dinner at the White House on Saturday night.
“A shooter targeted President Trump at the Washington Hilton, the only ballroom in Washington, DC, suitable for hosting large Presidential gatherings, where another shooter targeted President Reagan 45 years ago,” Shumate said in his letter to Greg B. Craig of Foley Hoag LLP, pointing to the historical context of the assassination of former President Ronald Reagan at nearly the same location.
“As history proves, that place is clearly not safe for the President of the United States because its size presents incredible security challenges for the Secret Service.
“[Saturday’s] The assassination attempt on President Trump proves, once again, that the White House ballroom is essential to the safety and security of the President, his family, his Cabinet and his staff. “
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President Donald Trump immediately ordered a blockade of the White House football stadium Saturday night after a would-be assassin nearly opened fire on the Cabinet and thousands of reporters at the White House Correspondents Association dinner. (Getty Images)
“I hope so [Saturday’s] “a little miss will help you finally see that filing a lawsuit in court does nothing but stop President Trump no matter what the cost,” Shumate wrote.
The NTHP sued the National Park Service in December, a week after the White House completed the demolition The eastern wing 90,000-square-foot (8,400-square-meter) ballpark.
The group said Trump overstepped his authority when he demolished the East Wing — built in 1902 during Theodore Roosevelt’s presidency and expanded in 1942 — saying the president needed congressional approval to do so.
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President Donald Trump shared a rendering of the proposed White House ballroom on Truth Social on Feb. 3, 2026. (Copyright Donald Trump/Public Fact)
Trump said the president has historically had a say in White House renovations, and has long noted that Congress does not need to pay for the privately funded project.
A lower court issued an injunction on March 31 to stop construction of the ballroom, but temporarily stayed that injunction to allow for an appeal.
The White House countered that the ban left the White House “open and exposed,” threatening the safety of the buildingthe president and his family and employees.
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A rendering of the new White House ballroom by McCrery Architects and the White House. (White House)
“Once the White House ballroom is completed, President Trump and his successors will no longer have to go outside White House security to attend large gatherings in the Washington Hilton ballroom,” Shumate wrote.
Forcing the president and the Cabinet to attend events outside the White House grounds is too dangerous in this political climate, Trump himself said Sunday night on CBS’ “60 Minutes.”
“I’m building a safe ballroom,” Trump said. “And one of the reasons I’m doing it is what happened last night.
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The rendering shows the interior design of the new White House ballroom, provided by McCrery Architects and the White House. (White House)
“That’s why the military, and that’s why the Secret Service and all law enforcement are looking for it.
“Because you probably have 1,000 hotel rooms above the ballroom we were in [Saturday] at night. And I’m not a coward. I’m just talking about maximum security — it’s not the best. You can do it, but you can have problems like this.”
Blocking the lawsuits could delay the project, Trump said.
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“I wish it would be faster,” Trump said. “We’re months ahead of schedule, but it doesn’t open until ’28.”
