The aftermath of Saturday night’s shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner has quickly spilled into a legal fight over President Donald Trump’s proposed $400 million ballroom, with his Justice Department now leaning on the incident to push preservationists to abandon their court challenge.

By Sunday, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche had made the administration’s position unmistakably clear. “It’s time to build the ballroom,” he wrote on X, attaching a letter from Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate that set a firm deadline for the National Trust for Historic Preservation to withdraw its lawsuit by 9 a.m. Monday.

The message from the Justice Department was blunt. If the group refuses, the government will ask a court to throw out the case “in light of last night’s extraordinary events.” Shumate’s letter pointed directly to the Washington Hilton, where the dinner was held, describing it as “demonstrably unsafe” for hosting the president because its scale creates “extraordinary security challenges for the Secret Service.”

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He argued the proposed White House ballroom would solve that problem for the long term. “Will ensure the safety and security of the President for decades to come and prevent future assassination attempts on the President at the Washington Hilton,” Shumate wrote.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation has not yet signaled its next move. Spokesperson Elliot Carter said Sunday the organization would review the letter with its legal team.

The group filed suit in December, shortly after the demolition of the East Wing began to clear space for the project. Trump has said the ballroom, designed to hold 999 guests, will be financed through private donations, though taxpayer funds are covering underground security infrastructure and bunker-related work.

Saturday’s dinner drew roughly 2,300 attendees to the Hilton, one of the few venues in Washington capable of accommodating the event. The space is typically packed, with tightly arranged tables and limited room for movement. The dinner itself is organized by the White House Correspondents’ Association, not the White House.

Trump has repeatedly used public appearances to promote the ballroom plan, often returning to the subject regardless of the occasion. On Saturday night, after reporters left the Hilton for a White House news conference, he again tied the project to security concerns, citing the shooting as evidence that a new venue is necessary.

That argument has been amplified by allies across media and social platforms. Republican Rep. Jim Jordan said on Fox News Channel he agreed with Trump “100%,” calling the proposed ballroom “obviously” a safer option for such gatherings.

Sen. Lindsey Graham echoed that view on X, describing the ballroom as “a national security necessity” that would give the Secret Service “immense control over the security environment of future events with a very hardened facility.”

Support has not been strictly partisan. Democratic Sen. John Fetterman, who attended the dinner, wrote on X that the White House space should host “events exactly like these.” Speaking later on CNN, he said the situation exposed how “vulnerable” both attendees and the broader public were, particularly with multiple figures in the presidential line of succession present.

When asked whether the incident could shift opinion in favor of the project, Fetterman replied, “I certainly hope so.”

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Security concerns around the White House are not new. Despite tight restrictions and limited public access over the past century, the complex has seen multiple breaches. In 2014, a knife-carrying Army veteran scaled the fence and made it deep into the building before being stopped. A Homeland Security review later cited lapses in training, staffing, and communication, failures that ultimately forced the Secret Service director to resign, the AP reported.

Other incidents have underscored the risks. In 1994, a stolen plane crashed into the South Lawn. In 2009, Tareq and Michaele Salahi slipped past checkpoints and attended a state dinner, even meeting President Barack Obama, triggering widespread scrutiny of security protocols.

The courtroom battle over the ballroom continues in parallel. The preservation group argues Trump exceeded his authority by advancing the project without proper approval from Congress and relevant federal agencies.

Earlier this month, a federal appeals court allowed construction to proceed in part, reversing a lower court decision that had blocked visible building work. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon had limited activity to below-ground elements such as bunkers and other “national security facilities,” while halting the above-ground ballroom structure. A June 5 hearing is expected to further examine the dispute.

Trump, for his part, is confident the outcome is inevitable. Speaking on Fox News Channel Sunday, he predicted the project would be finished before the end of his term.

“In the year ’28 you’re going to have something, you’re going to have a ballroom, the top of the line, security,” Trump said. “You’re not going to have problems.”

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