The National Trust for Historic Preservation says it won't drop its lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump's White House ballroom project following a request by the Department of Justice to withdraw the complaint after shots rang out at Saturday'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," said a statement from Carol Quillen, the head of the trust.
Alongside Trump, Vice President JD Vance, House Speaker Mike Johnson, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth — who are in the presidential line of succession in that order — attended the dinner.
Assistant Attorney General Todd Blanche on Sunday sent a letter to the group saying the lawsuit "puts the lives of the President, his family, and his staff at grave risk. I hope yesterday's narrow miss will help you finally realize the folly of a lawsuit that literally servers no purpose except to stop President Trump no matter the cost.
"Enough is enough," he added.
If the lawsuit is not dismissed, "the government will move to dissolve the injunction and dismiss the case in light of last night's extraordinary events."
Trump and other conservatives have made a renewed push for the ballroom in the wake of gunfire at the media dinner, arguing it exposed the difficulty of ensuring presidential security at large events outside the White House grounds.
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.
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.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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