The US Department of Justice has apparently decided that a weekend shooting in Washington DC is the perfect pretext to pressure a preservation group into dropping its lawsuit against Donald Trump's White House ballroom project.
Several Trump administration officials, including the president himself, seized on the incident at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner to argue that the controversial $400m project - for which the White House's East Wing was suddenly demolished - is now needed as a "safe space."
On Sunday night, acting attorney general Todd Blanche posted a letter on social media to lawyers representing the National Trust for Historic Preservation, calling their lawsuit "frivolous" and demanding they voluntarily withdraw it or face a new dismissal motion from the DoJ. The letter, signed by assistant attorney general Brett Shumate, claimed the lawsuit "puts the lives of the President, his family, and staff at grave risk."
"I hope yesterday's narrow miss will help you finally realize the folly of a lawsuit that literally serves no purpose except to stop President Trump no matter the cost," Shumate wrote, apparently suggesting that a shooting elsewhere validates demolishing a historic wing of the White House.
Shumate argued the ballroom was "essential for the safety of the president, his family, his cabinet, and his staff," claiming the Washington Hilton - where Saturday's shooting occurred - is currently the only ballroom in the capital large enough for such gatherings and is "demonstrably unsafe." The letter echoed Trump's own Truth Social post in which he insisted that security agencies and "every President for the last 150 years" have demanded a ballroom on White House grounds.
Trump's pursuit of a new ballroom on the former East Wing site, which he demolished last year, has followed a rocky legal path. In March, district court judge Richard Leon granted a preliminary injunction to the non-profit trust, which alleged Trump exceeded his authority by razing the East Wing without required congressional approval. A three-judge appeals panel later granted a stay of that order, allowing construction to continue while the lawsuit proceeds - though the panel stressed its order "should not be construed in any way as a ruling on the merits." The next hearing is tentatively scheduled for June 5.
Shumate's letter offered to discuss "ending this unnecessary and dangerous litigation" with the trust's lawyers on Monday. The National Trust, which previously stated it remains "committed to honoring the historic significance of the White House," has not yet commented on the DoJ's latest demand.