AG renews calls for ballroom after White House shooting

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche in a court filing on Sunday argued that the recent shooting at the White House underscored the need for the security features a proposed ballroom would provide. President Donald Trump officially announced the plan to construct a new ballroom in July 2025, and began construction on the project where the White House’s East Wing previously stood. But the project has faced legal hurdles. Blanche said continued litigation has already jeopardized national security by forcing the government to reveal key security protections.

Inaugural and other major events are currently held under tents on the South Lawn. Blanche’s court filing said this arrangement leaves government officials vulnerable to attacks. The planned ballroom would include state-of-the-art security features Blanche said are necessary for ensuring the president’s safety.

Why hasn’t the ballroom been completed? The National Trust for Historic Preservation in the United States in December 2025 sued to stop the East Wing Project. The organization’s challenge to the proposal featured claims from Alison Hoagland, a member of the trust, who said the ballroom proposal caused her personal and professional injury and that it would inflict irreparable damage on the White House. Blanche took aim at Hoagland’s claims in his filing Sunday saying she had no standing. He asked the court to vacate an ongoing injunction against the project and dismiss Hoagland’s lawsuit.

What kind of injunction is in place? In late March, a district judge issued that injunction, which ordered the administration to stop ballroom construction until Congress approved it. A federal appeals court later paused the injunction on below-ground construction until it had a chance to consider the case further. In that ruling, the appeals court said it would hear oral arguments on the case on June 5. Last week, the court confirmed that plan and offered further details on how the hearing would run.

What security features will the East Wing project include? According to Blanche’s Sunday court filing, the East Wing will be a hermetically sealed, highly secure area. Security features include:

• A drone-proof roof

• Rooftop sniper stations

• Missile resistant and drone-proof columns

• Bullet-, ballistic-, and blast-proof glass

• Military grade venting for air conditioning and heating

• Protective partitioning

• Top secret military installations, structures, and equipment

The new East Wing will also have bomb shelters and medical facilities, Blanche said.