‘The ballroom will be a solution’: Republicans, Trump demand speedy construction after weekend chaos

Support for President Donald Trump’s White House ballroom has surged among Republicans after a gunman opened fire at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner on Saturday, with the president and lawmakers arguing it is necessary given increased political violence.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Monday the structure would be a “safe environment” for events. Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) told Fox Business that constructing the ballroom is “imperative.” And Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.) called the project “common sense.”

Trump was rushed from the annual dinner at the Washington Hilton following the sounds of gunshots just after 8:30 p.m. Saturday. Vice President JD Vance and other Cabinet members were also evacuated from the scene, as members of the media and their guests huddled under tables for safety.

A Secret Service officer was shot in his armored vest and briefly hospitalized, but administration officials have said the agent is doing well and is already out of the hospital.

Johnson on Monday said the ballroom is the “solution.”

“The ballroom will be a solution for this, because it will be on the most secure compound in the world,” he told Fox News. “It won't have hotel rooms above it, and it will have seven-inch thick glass, for example, on the windows. So it'll be a very safe environment to do events like this. We need a place, we have needed a place like, and the president keeps pointing it out.”

Construction of the ballroom — which has become a passion project for the president — has largely been on pause since late last month when federal District Judge Richard Leon ordered that no statute “comes close” to giving Trump the authority he claimed he had to move forward with the project. Construction can only proceed with Congress' authorization, Leon ruled.

Now, several GOP legislators are attempting to push the project forward with legislation, and some Republicans have floated adding authorization for the ballroom to a reconciliation bill lawmakers are negotiating.

“I’m working with my team to draft legislation ensuring the White House Ballroom is completed,” Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Co.) posted on social media Sunday. “I don’t believe congressional approval is required for the project, but if it’ll keep activist judges on the sideline, so be it. More to come this week.”

Rep. Randy Fine (R-Fla.), also said he will introduce the Build the Ballroom Act.

Rep. Marlin Stutzman (R-Ind.) told POLITICO on Sunday that the shooting “shows why the ballroom at the White House is really important.”

“It's for the president and it's for the safety and security of the guests,” he continued. “If anything, make the thing a little bigger so that way we can have these bigger events like this there.”

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but in the wake of Saturday’s violence, Trump has reiterated his desire for the ballroom.

“I didn’t want to say this, but this is why we have to have all of the attributes of what we’re planning at the White House,” Trump said from the White House shortly after the shooting. “It’s actually a larger room and it’s much more secure. It’s drone-proof, it’s got bulletproof glass. We need the ballroom.”

On Sunday, he posted on Truth Social that the structure “cannot be built fast enough.”

Democratic leaders and preservationists have argued against adding the 90,000 square foot structure, with a price tag of some $400 million to build and replace the now-demolished East Wing — which Trump has said repeatedly will be funded by private donations. The National Trust for Historic Preservation has filed a lawsuit against the administration, claiming the structure violates laws requiring congressional approval.

The Justice Department has called for the Trust to voluntarily dismiss its lawsuit in light of Saturday's shooting, issuing a letter on Sunday calling the lawsuit “frivolous” and stating that it put the lives of Trump and his family at stake.

“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,” the letter stated. “The White House ballroom will ensure the safety and security of the President for decades to come and prevent future assassination attempts on the President at the Washington Hilton.”

The DOJ letter said that if the Trust did not move to end the lawsuit by Monday morning, the government would seek to have the case dismissed in court.

Carol Quillen, president and CEO of the Trust, said in a statement Monday that the organization is “grateful” to the Secret Service and law enforcement for keeping all the guests safe at the dinner — but added that the group plans to continue with its lawsuit.

“We are not planning to voluntarily dismiss our lawsuit, which endangers no one and which respectfully asks the Administration to follow the law,” Quillen said. “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.”

Democrats have broadly condemned the violence, but Sen. John Fetterman (D-Penn.) is the lone Democrat to support Trump’s ballroom project thus far.

The hotel “wasn’t built to accommodate an event with the line of succession for the U.S. government,” Fetterman said in a post to social media on Sunday. “After witnessing last night, drop the TDS [Trump Derangement Syndrome] and build the White House ballroom for events exactly like these.”

Meredith Lee HIll and Riya Misra contributed to this report.