Push for White House ballroom accelerated by Correspondents’ Dinner shooting
Demolition work continues where the East Wing once stood at the White House on December 08, 2025 in Washington, DC. President Donald Trump ordered the 123-year-old East Wing and Jacqueline Kennedy Garden leveled to make way for a new 90,000-square-fo
The Trump administration was quick to seize upon Saturday night’s shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association annual dinner as an example of why the proposed ballroom for the East Wing is so important.
Big picture view:
The push started almost immediately and from President Donald Trump himself in the hastily assembled news conference at the White House following the shooting.
Speaking to reporters, many of whom were still in the tuxedos and ball gowns they wore to the dinner, Trump described the Washington Hilton, where the event was held, as not very secure and argued 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 are planning at the White House," Trump continued. "It’s actually a larger room and much more secure. It’s drone-proof. It’s got bulletproof glass. We need the ballroom."
RELATED: Correspondents’ Dinner shooting: Former Secret Service agent addresses security questions
What they're saying:
On Sunday, supporters of the $400 million project echoed the president’s sentiment, while some called for an end of the lawsuit aiming to stop construction on the 90,000 square-foot ballroom.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche posted onto X that "It’s time to build the ballroom," and he gave the National Trust for Historic Preservation until 9 a.m. on Monday to dismiss its lawsuit. If the case is not dropped, Blanche indicated he would ask the court to do so. In response, the group said it is reviewing its legal options.
Longtime South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham called the new ballroom "a national security necessity" that would give the Secret Service "immense control over the security environment of future events with a very hardened facility."
RELATED: Trump is no stranger to assassination attempts: A look back at past security incidents
Democratic Senator John Fetterman, of Pennsylvania, said the ballroom should be used for events like the correspondents’ association dinner and argued that all Americans were put in a vulnerable position by the night’s events because so many people in the presidential line of succession were at the event.
The backstory:
Despite the ongoing litigation, work is still proceeding on the East Wing site after a federal appeals court allowed the Trump administration to continue construction.
A June 5 hearing was also set by the appellate court to review U.S. District Judge Richard Leon’s ruling which had halted above-ground construction on the building and only allowed below-ground work on a bunker and other "national security facilities" to continue.
What's next:
During an appearance on FOX News Channel on the morning after the shooting, Trump predicted that the ballroom construction would proceed and be completed by the end of his term.
"In the year '28 you’re going to have something, you’re going to have a ballroom, the top of the line, security," Trump said. "You’re not going to have problems."
The Source: Information for this article was taken from The Associated Press and FOX News. This story was reported from Orlando.