{"id":2587671,"date":"2026-04-06T14:15:51","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T18:15:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/doj-warns-of-national-security-harms-with-ballroom-construction-halted\/"},"modified":"2026-04-06T14:20:34","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T18:20:34","slug":"doj-warns-of-national-security-harms-with-ballroom-construction-halted","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/doj-warns-of-national-security-harms-with-ballroom-construction-halted\/","title":{"rendered":"DOJ warns of \u2018national-security harms\u2019 with ballroom construction halted"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fdoj-warns-of-national-security-harms-with-ballroom-construction-halted%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2587671&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Federal prosecutors say the Department of Justice has filed an emergency appeal with the D.C. Circuit to block a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wisconsin-supreme-court-set-to-hear-appeal-of-court-decision-that-absentee-ballot-drop-boxes-are-illegal\/\" title=\"Wisconsin Supreme ... Set to Hear Appeal of ... Decision that Absentee Ballot Drop Boxes Are Illegal\">lower-court order<\/a> that paused construction of the White House East Wing ballroom. The DOJ argues that halting the project would cause grave national-security harms and disrupt security upgrades already underway, including fortified materials and defenses against drones and ballistic threats. They contend President Trump has authority to approve changes to the white House without congressional approval and urge the court to stay the pause before the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/watch-dont-let-anyone-silence-you-female-college-athlete-urges-penn-swimmers-to-speak-out-against-transgender-competition\/\" title=\"WATCH: \u2018Don\u2019t Let Anyone Silence You\u2019: Female College Athlete Urges Penn Swimmers To Speak Out Against Transgender Competition\">district court order<\/a> takes effect. The National Trust for Historic Preservation, which sued over the project, is argued to lack standing to challenge the renovations, with DOJ claiming that architectural preferences should not override security needs. If the appellate court does not lift the pause, the DOJ could seek the Supreme Court\u2019s emergency docket; the piece also notes this is part of several Trump-era construction projects in Washington, D.C.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">DOJ asks court to unblock White House ballroom construction over &lsquo;grave national-security harms&rsquo;<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2553047\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>The <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/trump-administration\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"339\">Trump administration<\/a> is urging a federal <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/appeals-courts\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"1537\">appeals court<\/a> to allow construction of the White House ballroom to continue on grounds of national security, underscoring the implications if the addition is halted by a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/justice-alito-moves-up-deadline-for-supreme-court-briefing-in-pennsylvania-lawsuit-to-flip-the-election\/\" title=\"Justice Alito Moves Up Deadline For Supreme ... Briefing in Pennsylvania Lawsuit to Flip the Election\">lower court&#038;rsquo<\/a>;s ruling.<\/p>\n<p>The Justice Department <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/storage.courtlistener.com\/recap\/gov.uscourts.cadc.42993\/gov.uscourts.cadc.42993.01208837520.0_1.pdf\">filed an emergency appeal<\/a> to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit late Friday, asking for the federal appeals court to halt a lower court&rsquo;s <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4511271\/judge-blocks-trump-white-house-construction-ballroom\/\">order pausing construction<\/a> on the new East Wing of the White House, where the proposed ballroom is set to be built. The DOJ asked the appeals court to act by Friday, ahead of when the district court order would go into effect April 14, arguing that President Donald Trump has the authority to make changes to the White House without congressional approval. The DOJ&rsquo;s filing also highlighted the &ldquo;grave national-security harms&rdquo; that pausing construction would have.<\/p>\n<p>The filing discussed the security concerns for the president and administration officials that would arise if the renovations being made to protect the White House from potential attacks are not completed, especially at a time when tensions around the world remain high.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>&ldquo;This order is untenable and must be stayed in that the building is under construction, with deep Top Secret excavations, foundations, and structures, already built, and ready to receive heavily fortified, for security reasons, steel, bullet, ballistic, and blast proof glass, and drone proof roofing materials, which must be finished quickly, and not allowed to be exposed to the conditions and elements of an open construction site,&rdquo; the DOJ filing said. &ldquo;Time is of the essence!&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The old East Wing was in very dangerous and poor condition, and totally vulnerable to attack by even the most basic of Military weaponry, but especially now with the new advanced technologies of drones, missiles, much more powerful rifles, and other emerging national-security technologies and threats,&rdquo; the DOJ brief to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/appeals-court-denies-trumps-gag-order-challenge\/\" title=\"... Rejects Trump&#039;s Attempt to Enforce Gag Order\">appeals court added<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The DOJ also urged the appeals court to pause the lower court&rsquo;s ruling for other reasons, arguing that the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the nonprofit organization that sued the administration over the East Wing project, does not have standing to sue. The filing claimed that &ldquo;feelings do not confer standing, let alone confer a heckler&rsquo;s veto over critically important White House renovations and national security improvements.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;There is no world in which <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >equity elevates idiosyncratic architectural likes<\/a> or dislikes of a single passer-by over the security of the President and the functionality of the White House complex,&rdquo; the DOJ filing said.<\/p>\n<p>The appeals court has ordered lawyers for the National Trust for Historic Preservation to file their response to the DOJ by Wednesday at 5 p.m., and then allowed the DOJ until Thursday at 5 p.m. to respond to that filing.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/supreme-court\/4513748\/why-colorados-lgbt-laws-keep-getting-struck-down-by-the-supreme-court\/\">WHY COLORADO&rsquo;S LGBT LAWS KEEP GETTING STRUCK DOWN BY THE SUPREME COURT<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>If the appeals court declines to grant the DOJ&rsquo;s request to lift the pause on construction of the revamped East Wing, the Justice Department could go to the Supreme Court&rsquo;s emergency docket, where it has had overwhelming success since Trump&rsquo;s return to the White House.<\/p>\n<p>The East Wing renovation is one of <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4515732\/trump-dc-construction-project-court\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4515732\/trump-dc-construction-project-court\/\">several construction projects<\/a> the Trump administration has ongoing across the nation&rsquo;s capital. Another Trump proposal facing scrutiny in a D.C. federal court is his plan to build an arch on a plot of land owned by the National Park Service between Arlington National Cemetery and the Lincoln Memorial.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>DOJ seeks court to resume White House ballroom work<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2638,"featured_media":2587672,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/AP26091654089976.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651,538],"tags":[65586,5919,7076,4114,23344],"class_list":["post-2587671","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","category-washington-examiner","tag-ballroom","tag-construction","tag-doj","tag-halted","tag-national-security"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/AP26091654089976.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2587671","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2638"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2587671"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2587671\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2587675,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2587671\/revisions\/2587675"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2587672"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2587671"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2587671"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2587671"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}