The Trump administration is once again trying to revive construction of a controversial White House ballroom project, this time arguing that recent gun violence near the presidential complex proves the building is urgently needed for national security.
In a court filing submitted Sunday, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche asked the court to lift restrictions that have halted progress on the ballroom, calling the case against the project “terrible” and “tremendously harmful” to the United States.
At the centre of the administration’s argument is a shooting that unfolded near a White House security checkpoint last Saturday. According to officials, 21-year-old Nasire Best approached the checkpoint in Washington, DC, drew a firearm and opened fire. One bystander was injured before Secret Service agents killed the suspect in an exchange of gunfire.
The sound of the shooting reportedly echoed across the White House grounds, sending reporters running for cover.
Blanche argued that the incident marked the second direct security threat involving President Donald Trump within a month.
On April 25, another armed individual, 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen, allegedly attempted to breach security during the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, where Trump and senior administration officials were present. Allen was later taken into custody after an exchange of gunfire with security personnel.
“This second attack on the President this month underscores the critical need for top level, state of the art security at the White House, including the Ballroom,” Blanche wrote.
He added that the ballroom “is being constructed to ensure that the President can perform his constitutional duties in a safe and heavily secured facility”.
Trump himself echoed nearly identical language after Saturday’s shooting, using his Truth Social platform to connect the security incident directly to the construction project.
“This event is one month removed from the White House Correspondent’Dinner shooting [sic], and goes to show how important it is, for all future Presidents, to get, what will be, the most safe and secure space of its kind ever built in Washington, D.C,” Trump wrote.
“The National Security of our Country demands it!”
The administration has leaned increasingly heavily on security arguments as legal and political resistance to the ballroom project grows.
On March 31, federal judge Richard Leon issued a temporary injunction halting construction. While Leon allowed limited work necessary for White House safety and security, he warned that broad invocations of national security alone would not justify bypassing legal procedures.
The judge instructed the administration to seek proper congressional approval before continuing construction.
That has become politically complicated.
Trump recently pushed Congress to include $1bn for the ballroom project inside a broader immigration enforcement funding bill. But Senate Republicans ultimately removed the provision last week. Some lawmakers reportedly objected to the growing cost, while others warned the additional spending could jeopardize the bill’s ability to pass under budget reconciliation rules.
The project’s price tag itself has become increasingly difficult to pin down.
Trump initially claimed the ballroom would cost around $200m and be financed entirely through private donations. By December, estimates had doubled to $400m. Over the past month, however, the broader package tied to the project has reportedly expanded to include $1bn in taxpayer-funded security upgrades.
Despite that, Trump has continued insisting the ballroom itself is privately funded.
“All of this was paid for by myself. We are making a gift of this. This is a gift. This is not going to be paid for by the taxpayers,” Trump told reporters during a May 19 tour of the construction site.
The president has also repeatedly claimed the project is ahead of schedule and under budget — a point Blanche repeated in Sunday’s filing.
But Trump appeared visibly irritated earlier this month when questioned about the escalating costs.
“I doubled the size of it, you dumb person. Doubled the size. You are not a smart person,” he told one journalist.
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