AG requests to resume ballroom construction, citing latest shooting

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche asked in a court filing late Sunday to resume construction on the White House ballroom, arguing that the nearby shooting over the weekend underscores the need for security the ballroom will provide. "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, and is being constructed to ensure that the President can perform his constitutional duties in a safe and heavily secured facility," Blanche said in the court filing. Blanche wrote that without the ballroom, "the President cannot safely conduct the business of the United States." A gunman was killed after allegedly opening fire on a U.S. Secret Service checkpoint near the White House Saturday evening, officials said. Secret Service officers returned fire, hitting the suspect, who later died at a hospital. A bystander was also wounded. A Washington, D.C. district court judge last month temporarily halted construction of the 9,000-square foot ballroom until the administration obtains congressional approval. But the Senate parliamentarian ruled the $1 billion for the ballroom's security could not be included as part of a reconciliation bill and Congress left for recess last week without agreement on the measure. …