The Department of Justice scolded the plaintiff who is suing over President Donald Trump’s proposed White House ballroom, arguing the space is needed in light of the correspondent’s dinner shooting.
In a court motion filed late Monday, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and two other DOJ officials slammed the National Trust for Historic Preservation for refusing to drop its lawsuit.
The document reads similarly to Trump’s Truth Social posts with excessive capitalization and personal attacks. Blanche said the preservation group’s “name is FAKE” because it makes the organization sound like a federal agency when it isn’t. He also claimed the organization suffers “from Trump Derangement Syndrome, commonly referred to as TDS.”
Trump shared the full nine-page motion in a series of Truth Social posts on Tuesday morning.
The DOJ, representing the National Park Service and other defendants, argued that the 90,000-square-foot ballroom is necessary for national security purposes. Trump repeatedly made that argument while the construction project faced court challenges, and his reasoning was underscored by the assassination attempt targeting the president during the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner on Saturday.
“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,” Blanche wrote.
The department is asking U.S. District Judge Richard Leon to lift his injunction pausing aboveground construction on the $400 million project, paving the way for the case’s potential dismissal.
“This Court should never have enjoined this Project, but now, after the Saturday night attempted assassination, which could have never taken place in the new facility, reasonable minds can no longer differ — The injunction must be dissolved,” Blanche said. “This Court should immediately issue an indicative ruling that it will dissolve the injunction, and put an end to this frivolous lawsuit, which greatly endangers the lives of all Presidents, current and future.”
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit stayed Leon’s order, allowing construction to continue until at least June while it considers the case.
Shortly after Saturday’s attack, Trump used a press briefing to sell his ballroom project to the American people, saying such an incident would never have happened at the White House.
HISTORICAL PRESERVATION GROUP WON’T END LAWSUIT AGAINST TRUMP’S BALLROOM
The ballroom is expected to include an underground bunker to protect top federal officials in the event of such an emergency. The National Trust for Historic Preservation noted it had consistently called for an injunction allowing continued construction of the bunker while continuing to challenge aspects of the project unrelated to national security in court.
Federal prosecutors charged the suspected shooter, 31-year-old Cole Allen, on Monday with attempting to assassinate the president and two firearm-related counts. He remains in custody.