Preservationists are pressing ahead with their lawsuit against President Donald Trump's planned $400 million White House ballroom, declining a request by the Department of Justice to withdraw the complaint following the shooting at the White House Correspondents' Dinner on Saturday.
Trump and other conservatives have made a renewed push for the ballroom in the wake of Saturday's media dinner shooting, arguing it exposed the difficulties in ensuring presidential security at large events outside the White House grounds, and urging the National Trust for Historic Preservation to drop its lawsuit.
Top Justice officials said the government would ask a court to dismiss the lawsuit "in light of last night's extraordinary events" if the Trust did not voluntarily drop it.
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Trust attorney Gregory Craig declined that request, writing to the Justice Department that the legal issues at the heart of the lawsuit are unchanged.
"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.
Carol Quillen, president and CEO of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, said in a statement, "We’re grateful to the Secret Service and DC law enforcement officers for keeping the President and all guests safe at this weekend’s White House Correspondents' Association Dinner. 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. 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."
A spokesperson for the Justice Department did not immediately return a message seeking comment.
The preservation group sued in December, a week after the White House finished demolishing the East Wing to make way for a ballroom that Trump said would fit 999 people. Trump says the project is funded by private donations, although public money is paying for a below-ground bunker and security upgrades.
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In its lawsuit, the Trust argued that Trump had overstepped his authority by moving forward with the project without first getting approval from key federal agencies and Congress.
A federal appeals court has allowed Trump to continue the project, ruling a day after a lower court judge continued to block above-ground construction on the site and scheduling a June 5 hearing to review the case.
The White House Correspondents' Dinner is an annual gala hosted by the White House Correspondents' Association (WCHA) held to raise money for journalism scholarships, present awards to journalists who cover the White House and celebrate the First Amendment in the nation's capital.
The president and other prominent political figures are invited to the event and typically attend. However, this was President Trump's first time attending the event as the president.
The event traditionally features a seated dinner, speeches that include a comedic monologue and the attendance of some of the nation's top journalists who are members of the WCHA — about 2,400 people total.
The proposed White House ballroom would have a capacity of 650 to 999 people for a seated dinner, according to a press release from the White House last year and statements from President Trump.
