The National Trust for Historic Preservation said Monday that it will not drop its lawsuit to halt construction of President Donald Trump's White House ballroom, despite the Justice Department's request.
"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.
The trust's statement comes one day after the Justice Department wrote a letter urging the group to drop the suit, arguing that the "lawsuit puts the lives of the President, his family, and his staff at grave risk."
White House spokesman Davis Ingle said in a statement to NBC News that the White House is "long overdue for a safe and secure facility that can host large public gatherings without jeopardizing the President’s safety and the safety of all staff, guests, and visitors."
He said it would be the "safest ballroom anywhere in the world," "carefully designed with enhanced security features — including bulletproof glass, drone detection technologies, projectile resistant materials, and a host of other national security functions."
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said Trump's proposed ballroom was needed for "safety" reasons but also said it would be "spectacular" and "beautiful."
"And so I very much wish that the plaintiffs and their counsel would take a different view but if they don't, we are going to continue to fight in court like we have been, and hopefully the judges at the D.C. Circuit Court will do the right thing," he said.
Later on Monday, the Justice Department urged the court in a filing to "put an end to this frivolous lawsuit," arguing that it "greatly endangers the lives of all Presidents, current and future." The filing claimed the plaintiff suffered from "Trump Derangement Syndrome" and said the planned ballroom would have made an attack like the one on Saturday night "impossible."
"If any other President had the ability, foresight, or talents necessary, to build this ballroom, which will be one of the greatest, safest, and most secure structures of its kind anywhere in the World, there would never have been a lawsuit," the filing said. "But, because it is DONALD J. TRUMP, a highly successful real estate developer, who has abilities that others don’t, especially those who assume the Office of President, this frivolous and meritless lawsuit was filed."
The shooting at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner on Saturday raised fresh questions about securing events with a slew of high-profile guests, including the president, vice president, Cabinet officials and members of Congress — several of whom sat in the presidential line of succession.
In the hours after the suspect was apprehended, Trump and his allies argued that the ballroom was necessary to provide a more secure setting — even though it's far from certain that the event would be held on White House grounds. The dinner is hosted by members of the media, not the government.
In her response to the Justice Department's letter, Quillen expressed gratitude for Secret Service and law enforcement's response to the shooting and noted that ballroom construction is currently allowed to continue until June 5, the date of the next scheduled oral arguments.
"We have always acknowledged the utility of a larger meeting space at the White House. Building it lawfully requires the approval of Congress, which the Administration could seek at any time," she said in the statement.
Brett A. Shumate, the assistant attorney general for the Justice Department's civil division, said in his letter to the trust's lawyer that Saturday's incident proved the ballroom "is essential for the safety and security" of the president and others.
"When the White House ballroom is complete, President Trump and his successors will no longer need to venture beyond the safety of the White House perimeter to attend large gatherings at the Washington Hilton ballroom," Shumate said.
Presidents frequently travel around the country and the world for events. Trump himself has attended numerous other large gatherings, including sporting events, conferences, dinners and rallies.
