Justice Department asks to lift ballroom injunction

Justice Department lawyers asked a federal judge on Monday to lift the injunction blocking construction of President Donald Trump’s White House ballroom and to dismiss the case. (abcnews.com) (fox5dc.com) The brief argued that the recent shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner changed the security picture and made the ballroom project more urgent. The filing said the injunction should end immediately. (abcnews.com) (nytimes.com) The case was brought by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which challenged the demolition tied to the ballroom project on the White House grounds. A federal judge halted work on March 31. (cnn.com) (abcnews.go.com) The courtroom fight has overlapped with a funding fight in Congress. Senate Republicans unveiled legislation that would provide up to $400 million for the ballroom after the dinner shooting. (abcnews.com) (politico.com) But Republican lawmakers still do not have a clear path to move that money quickly, and Democrats have shown little appetite to help. Three congressional aides told Politico the funding cannot simply be folded into a party-line package. (politico.com 1) (politico.com 2) The Justice Department’s filing stood out for its tone as much as its legal request. The New York Times reported that the brief adopted language and style associated with Trump’s own public posts. (nytimes.com) (abcnews.com) This is not the first appellate turn in the case. Earlier in April, the D.C. Circuit temporarily allowed construction to continue while sending security questions back to the trial judge. (politico.com 1) (politico.com 2) Trump has framed the ballroom as both a prestige project and a security response after the correspondents’ dinner attack. Preservation groups have argued the work would permanently alter historic White House grounds. (politico.com) (cnn.com) For now, the administration is pressing the court to reopen the site while allies on Capitol Hill search for votes and money. Until one of those fights breaks, the ballroom remains frozen by law and politics. (abcnews.com) (politico.com)