Donald Trump and his Republican supporters have seized on this weekend’s assassination attempt to reinvigorate the president’s $400mn White House ballroom project, with some calling for it to be funded with public money.
The Department of Justice late on Monday called on a federal court to “dissolve” an order that last month halted construction of the 90,000 sq ft structure until Congress approved the project. An appeals court has allowed the building to proceed while the case continues and set a hearing for June.
Acting attorney-general Todd Blanche and other DoJ officials wrote in a court filing: “Presidents need a secure space for large events, that currently does not exist in Washington, DC, 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.”