DOJ asks group to drop lawsuit challenging Trump's White House ballroom after WHCD shooting

Brett Shumate, who leads the department’s civil division, wrote a letter to Gregory Craig, a lawyer for the National Trust for Historic Preservation, with a deadline of 9 a.m. on Monday to voluntarily drop the lawsuit.

By Nicholas Ballasy

Published: April 26, 2026 5:01pm

A senior Justice Department official urged a historic preservation group to drop its legal challenge to President Donald Trump’s proposed 90,000-square-foot White House ballroom, citing security concerns after an attempted attack at the White House correspondents' dinner that the president and his cabinet attended on Saturday.

Brett Shumate, who leads the department’s civil division, wrote a letter to Gregory Craig, a lawyer for the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and gave him until 9 a.m. on Monday to voluntarily withdraw the lawsuit.

“Put simply, your lawsuit puts the lives of the President, his family, and his staff at grave risk,” Shumate wrote in the letter that acting Attorney General Todd Blanche posted to X. “I hope yesterday’s narrow miss will help you finally recognize the folly of a lawsuit that serves no purpose beyond stopping President Trump at any cost.”

An armed suspect was apprehended after allegedly trying to enter a Washington hotel ballroom during the annual White House correspondents’ dinner. Shots were fired in the hotel and the event was postponed.