WASHINGTON — The Trump administration cited Saturday’s shooting at a White House security checkpoint in its latest plea to allow the president’s $400 million pet ballroom project to proceed.
A judge had blocked construction of the structure that will replace the East Wing, though an appeals court allowed building to proceed until at least June 5 while the administration’s appeal plays out.
The White House previously pointed to the April 25 White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting as a reason for the ballroom project to be completed.
“This second attack on the President this month underscores the critical need for top level, state of the art security at the White House, including the Ballroom, a knitted, unified, cohesive part of the East Wing Project, which is vital for National Security,” Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward wrote in a Sunday court filing.
“This court’s unlawful injunction has wrongfully cast a cloud of uncertainty around the future of the entire East Wing Project, which is being constructed for the physical safety and security of all Presidents, their families, staff, Foreign Dignitaries, and guests,” he added.
The filing also warned that if the ballroom construction could not go forward, future White House events “are otherwise relegated to the vulnerable tents on the South Lawn, exposed to various threats, as again shown by last night’s shooting, which would have been easily in range to reach a tent.”
“[I]n all cases made of plastic or canvas, which has virtually no ability to stop a bullet, unlike the walls of the Facility under construction, which has the highest degree of bullet stoppage, including that of a higher range than a large caliber AK-47.”
The administration has been battling in court with the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which Congress has entrusted with protecting historic American sites, over both the ballroom and Trump-Kennedy Center renovation projects.
In addition to the ballroom, President Trump has been pressing Republicans in Congress to fund $1 billion in security upgrades to the White House, a request at which some lawmakers have balked.
On Saturday evening, 21-year-old Nasire Best whipped out a revolver and began firing at a security checkpoint outside the White House. Best, who suffered from delusions that he was Jesus Christ, was killed by Secret Service agents who returned fire. One bystander was injured in the barrage.
The shooting took place days after Trump took reporters on a tour of the construction site and talked up its security features.
“The roof is a barrier. It’s a shield,” Trump said. “The side walls are steel, impenetrable steel, and also impenetrable glass. The glass is approximately 4 inches thick, and yet it’s amazing. You can see through it as though it didn’t exist, and it can stop just about anything.”
He also noted that a “drone port” on top of the ballroom will be “set up for unlimited numbers of drones.”
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