OAN Staff Addie Davis
7:38 AM – Tuesday, April 28, 2026
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a motion on Monday to dismiss the injunction halting construction of the White House ballroom.
In court documents posted by President Donald Trump to Truth Social on Tuesday morning, DOJ legal counsel, including Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, asked that the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia dismiss the injunction in light of the recent shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
“The attack confirms that this Court’s injunction is intolerable and unsustainable as a matter of equity and Law,” the DOJ argued.
The commander-in-chief renewed calls for the ballroom shortly after the shooting, saying such an attack would never have occurred in the planned secure facility.
Relating the complex security measures that would be included in the construction of a ballroom on the White House grounds, the filing stated that such an attack would not have been possible in such a structure.
“With such a facility, it would have been impossible for an attack like that which took place last Saturday evening in D.C. when an attempted assassin, armed with a shotgun, pistol, and knives, charged through a security checkpoint at the Washington Hilton in an attempt to assassinate President Donald J. Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, and members of the President’s Cabinet and senior staff, during the White House Correspondents’ Dinner,” the DOJ stated.
U.S. District Judge Richard Leon amended the injunction on April 16th halting construction on the ballroom, though he specified work on the underground bunker and related efforts may continue.
The DOJ argued, however, that these two sections cannot be separated.
“The lower section of the building does not work without the upper section, and, likewise, the upper section of the building does not work without the lower,” the department stated.
U.S. Secret Service Deputy Director Matthew Quinn also filed a declaration on Monday, which the president posted to Truth Social, detailing the security challenges inherent in the hosting of large events either in temporary structures on the White House grounds or in off-site venues.
“The White House complex, in contrast, is a controlled facility with a permanent security infrastructure that has been designed in close coordination with the Secret Service,” he said.
The DOJ also relayed that the National Trust for Historic Preservation, who brough the lawsuit, is not backing down, despite the recent assassination attempt.
The department accused the organization, which is not a government agency and stopped receiving federal funds in 2005, of bringing the suit “because they suffer from Trump Derangement Syndrome.”
Quinn pointed out that even if no one is harmed during a presidential event, a security incident can still cause it to be cancelled, hindering the president’s ability to carry out his duties.
Though the White House ballroom would still take time to build, the DOJ explained it is needed for all presidents.
“As Defendants have detailed, and as this weekend painfully confirms, all current and future Presidents need a secure large-event space now,” the department said.
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