Sheehy promises White House ballroom bill following D.C. shooting scare

Montana U.S. Sen. Tim Sheehy on Sunday indicated that he will propose a bill authorizing construction of a White House East Wing ballroom for President Donald Trump. 

Announcing the bill in a press release, Sheehy echoed Trump’s remarks that the ballroom, most recently estimated to cost $400 million, would have prevented a shooter from breaching security at the April 25 White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner at the Washington Hilton. 

“It is an embarrassment to the strongest nation on earth that we cannot host gatherings in our nation’s capital, including ones attended by our President, without the threat of violence and attempted assassinations,” Sheehy said in a social media post. “A president of any party should be able to host events in a secure area without attendees worrying about their safety.”

The annual correspondents’ dinner is sponsored by the White House Correspondents’ Association, a nonprofit organization of journalists. The dinner is not a government function and is not hosted on government property. 

Construction of the ballroom, which a U.S. District Court judge ruled March 16 could not proceed without congressional approval, had stalled over questions about whether Trump had exceeded presidential powers in demolishing the East Wing of the White House to make way for the proposed ballroom, and whether the new ballroom could be paid for by what Trump has called “Patriot donors.” 

“It’s not too late for Congress to authorize the continued construction of the ballroom project,” Judge Richard J. Leon said in an order granting an injunction against the project. “The president may at any time go to Congress and obtain express authority to construct a ballroom and to do so with private funds.”

No member of Montana’s all-Republican congressional delegation attended the dinner.

Jason Thielman, a partner in the Virginia-based political consultancy S2R and former chief of staff to Montana U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, posted on social media that his wife, Erin, “had stepped out to call our kids and was right outside the entrance when an armed individual tried to rush in. She was just feet away from him as shots were fired to stop him.”

After the incident, Erin Thielman told the Washington Post that the suspect, now identified as Cole Thomas Allen, of California, and charged with attempting to assassinate Trump, ran by her “eyes wide open, mouth in line with determination.”   

Daines, who leaves office in January, didn’t respond to questions from Montana Free Press about the ballroom. He said on social media after the shooting incident that he was relieved Trump was unharmed.

U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke, a Republican representing Montana’s Western District, said on Facebook shortly after the incident that “God once again protected President Trump from the third assassination attempt by a deranged assailant.” Like Daines, Zinke has chosen not to seek reelection and will leave Congress in January.

Montana Eastern District Rep. Troy Downing said in a statement issued by staff Monday that “I support efforts to enhance security at the White House including the proposed ballroom project, particularly as it is privately funded.”

A bill marshaling Senate support for Trump’s ballroom plans would be the most significant standalone legislation of Sheehy’s first 16 months in office. The senator has introduced roughly 60 bills, nearly all without floor votes, which isn’t unusual for a first-term senator. Two bills stand out during Sheehy’s tenure so far. Trump signed into law the Aerial Firefighting Enhancement Act, authorizing the sale of U.S. Defense Department aircraft for wildfire suppression, of which Sheehy was primary sponsor. Sheeny also successfully carried a resolution recognizing the Army-Navy football game as “America’s Game.”