The Justice Department is arguing in a new court filing that the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday shows the urgent need for allowing President Donald Trump’s proposed White House ballroom to move forward.
In a filing late Monday as part of a lawsuit brought by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and others ask U.S. District Judge Richard Leon, who paused the construction on the project earlier this month, to lift his block.
“Presidents need a secure space for large events, that currently does not exist in Washington, D.C., and this Court’s injunction stalling this Project cannot defensibly continue, for the sake of the safety of President Trump, future Presidents, and their families, Cabinets, and staff,” the filing reads.
DOJ also takes aim at the National Trust in Trump-coded language akin to what’s seen in his Truth Social postings, writing that the group suffers “from Trump Derangement Syndrome, commonly referred to as TDS,” says the “name is FAKE” and describes the president as a “highly successful real estate developer, who has abilities that others don’t.”
