Federal prosecutors on Monday charged Cole Tomas Allen with attempting to assassinate President Trump at the White House Correspondents' dinner, as Senate Republicans introduced legislation to commit $400 million in public funds to a disputed White House ballroom and the acting attorney general asked a federal judge to lift the injunction blocking its construction.
The moves turn Saturday's shooting at the Washington Hilton into a political and legal lever. Within 48 hours, the administration and Senate allies have used the episode to revive a project a federal judge had paused and to federalize what had been pitched as a privately funded venue.
The charges
Allen, 31, of Torrance, Calif., was charged with attempting to assassinate the president, discharging a firearm during a crime of violence, and transporting a firearm across state lines with intent to commit a felony. He appeared Monday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Matthew Sharbaugh and asked for appointed counsel. He did not enter a plea. A detention hearing is set for Thursday, a preliminary hearing for May 11.
A seven-page FBI affidavit says Allen reserved a Hilton room on April 6, weeks after Trump announced March 2 he would attend. Allen traveled by train from Los Angeles, arriving Friday. At about 8:40 p.m. Saturday, the affidavit states, Allen "approached and ran through the magnetometer holding a long gun," and a Secret Service officer identified as "Officer V.G." was struck in the chest while wearing a ballistic vest. The officer fired multiple times; Allen fell but was not shot. He carried a 12-gauge shotgun, a .38 pistol and three knives.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro told reporters Allen's "intent was to bring down as many of the high-ranking Cabinet officials as he could." Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said investigators seized devices from Allen's California home and hotel room.
Ballroom bill
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., joined by Sens. Katie Britt of Alabama and Eric Schmitt of Missouri, said Monday he will introduce legislation authorizing $400 million for a ballroom with Secret Service and security facilities underground, offset by customs fees. Graham called the attack a "wakeup call" and said, "I'm convinced if there had been a presidential ballroom adjacent to the White House, the guy would never have gotten in." Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said separately he would introduce his own bill. Democratic Sen. John Fetterman echoed the security argument.
The bill reverses the project's original premise. Trump broke ground last year on a privately financed ballroom; Graham said donations could now go "for buying china and stuff like that." Without reconciliation, the measure would need 60 Senate votes.
The injunction
In a 9-page filing late Monday, Blanche asked Judge Richard Leon for an indicative ruling on whether he would lift the preliminary injunction Leon imposed earlier this month, which paused above-ground construction pending congressional approval. A federal appellate court has temporarily allowed all work to continue. Blanche argued the shooting "could never have taken place in the new facility" and that the project "is required for National Security." An affidavit from Secret Service deputy director Matthew Quinn cited the "security limitations of large off-site venues."
The National Trust for Historic Preservation said Monday it would not drop its suit, calling it one "which endangers no one and which respectfully asks the Administration to follow the law."
Counterpoint
Graham and Blanche cast the ballroom as a Secret Service necessity, and a Democrat has signed on. Right-leaning outlets did not cover Monday's filings or the Graham bill in today's reporting pull, leaving the conservative case made primarily by the administration. Judge Leon, before the shooting, had questioned both the private financing and the absence of congressional input — concerns the new bill is designed to neutralize.
Kimmel beat
Trump on Monday demanded on Truth Social that Disney and ABC fire Jimmy Kimmel over an April 23 bit in which Kimmel told Melania Trump, "You have a glow like an expectant widow." Kimmel on Monday called the joke a reference to the couple's age difference, adding, "It was not by any stretch of the definition a call to assassination, and they know that."
Allen is due back in federal court Thursday; the appellate court will hear ballroom arguments in early June.