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Trump Uses Dinner Shooting to Press Case for High-Security White House Ballroom

The remarks raise the stakes in a court fight over presidential authority to rebuild the White House complex.

Overview

  • Gunfire at the Washington Hilton forced Secret Service to evacuate the head table, and agents detained a suspect identified as Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California.
  • A Secret Service agent was shot in the chest but protected by a bullet-resistant vest, and video showed agents forming a tight stage perimeter before escorting President Trump out.
  • Trump said the scare proves the need for a fortified White House ballroom with bulletproof glass and drone defenses.
  • Conservative officials and commentators publicly backed the push, while critics said Trump was using the shooting to promote the $400 million project.
  • The plan faces a federal lawsuit over authority to rebuild the East Wing site, and a judge has limited construction as appeals move forward, with the design pitched as a 90,000-square-foot, privately funded hall seating 999.