U.S. President Donald Trump holds a rendering of his proposed ballroom as he meets with Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Mark Rutte in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., Oct. 22, 2025.
Kevin Lamarque | Reuters
The plaintiff in the lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump’s $400 million White House ballroom project on Monday rejected a demand by the Department of Justice to drop that legal challenge in the wake of a shooting incident at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner that Trump was evacuated from.
“Your assertion that this lawsuit puts the President’s life at ‘grave risk’ is incorrect and irresponsible,” wrote Gregory Craig, a lawyer for the plaintiff, The National Trust for Historic Preservation in the United States, to DOJ Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate.
Simply put, this case does not jeopardize the President’s safety in any way,” Craig wrote in the new letter, which he provided to CNBC.
“And nothing prevents you from asking Congress at any time for the necessary authorization required by the Constitution and federal law.
Shumate, in his letter to Craig on Sunday, said the lawsuit “puts the lives of the President, his family, and his staff at great risk.”
“I hope that yesterday’s narrow miss will help you finally realize the folly of a lawsuit that literally serves no purpose except to stop President Trump no matter the cost,” wrote Shumate.
“Enough is enough,” Shumate wrote. “Your client should voluntarily dismiss this frivolous lawsuit today in light of last night’s assassination attempt on President Trump.”
This is breaking news. Please refresh for updates.
About The Author
