The National Trust for Historic Preservation declined to end a lawsuit blocking President Donald Trump's White House ballroom project after acting Attorney General Todd Blanche used a shooting at the White House Correspondents' Dinner to call on the litigation to be dropped.

"I write to acknowledge receipt of your letter requesting that the National Trust for Historic Preservation in the United States ("National Trust") dismiss the above-captioned lawsuit," National Trust senior counsel Gregory B. Craig confirmed to Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate in a letter on Monday. "The National Trust respectfully declines the invitation to dismiss."

"The National Trust's filings have repeatedly insisted that any injunction on ballroom construction nonetheless permit work to continue on the below-ground bunker construction you have represented to the Court is necessary to preserve national security," the letter continued. "What Saturday's awful event does not change is that the Constitution and multiple federal statutes require Congress to authorize construction of a ballroom on White House grounds, and that Congress has not done so."

"Equally clear is that nothing in this lawsuit puts the personal safety of the President, his family, or his staff in any jeopardy. Indeed, after reviewing multiple secret security submissions by your office, the court concluded that the absence of a White House ballroom is not a matter of national security permitting those federal laws to be ignored."

Craig disagreed with the assertion that blocking the ballroom put the president's life at risk, calling the notion "incorrect and irresponsible."

"Simply put, this case does not jeopardize the President's safety in any way. And nothing prevents you from asking Congress at any time for the necessary authorization required by the Constitution and federal law," the letter said. "The National Trust has consistently maintained that this lawsuit is not about whether there should be a ballroom, but whether the President must follow the law. We therefore cannot assent to your motion, and request that you inform the Court that we will oppose it."