Jacky Rosen

Sen. Jacky Rosen, (D-NV), said that "we can discuss" building the White House ballroom for safety, after the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner on Saturday.

Following the shooting during the WHCA dinner that President Trump attended, he and his allies have renewed their push for the $400 million, 90,000-square-foot ballroom.

Republican senators are seeking to pass a bill to fund the construction of the ballroom, which Trump has previously said was being funded by private donors, The Hill reported.

Rosen noted the safety reasons for building a White House ballroom on Monday.

“Do we need a ballroom? Well, that, we can discuss that, what it looks like and all of that,” Rosen told NewsNation.

“This isn’t about Donald Trump. It is really about safety. It’s really about safety. I think it should have gone through the right congressional process.”

She said that while “you can’t harden each and every” event, “you want to try to be sure that they’re as safe as possible. And so depending on who is coming to the event, you may have to take more steps.”

Rosen added regarding safety at various events, “one ballroom isn’t the answer to this.”

She noted her objection to the demolition of the East Wing, which included the first lady’s office and other office spaces used by White House employees, for the ballroom to be built.

“And so what I object to is it didn’t go through any of those processes before the demolition,” Rosen said. “What was lost in that demolition that should have been preserved for history? This isn’t the first time we’ve made changes. It won’t be the last. But we need to go through the process.”

During a press conference Saturday night after the shooting, Trump said, “I didn’t want to say this, but this is why we have to have all of the attributes of what we’re planning at the White House. It’s actually a larger room, and it’s much more secure. It’s got — it’s drone-proof. It’s bulletproof glass. We need the ballroom.”

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., on Sunday also called for the White House ballroom to be built after attending the WHCA dinner during the shooting.

“We were there front and center,” Fetterman posted on X on Sunday. “That venue wasn’t built to accommodate an event with the line of succession for the U.S. government. After witnessing last night, drop the TDS and build the White House ballroom for events exactly like these.”

The alleged shooter, 31-year-old Cole Thomas Allen of California, entered the hotel by booking a room, but didn’t have an invitation to the dinner or any of the pre-parties.

A Secret Service agent was shot in his bulletproof vest and suffered minor injuries, per authorities.

Allen was charged on Monday in D.C. federal court with attempted assassination of the president, interstate transportation of a firearm to commit a felony, and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said his bill to fund the building of the ballroom would authorize the construction of national security-related infrastructure underneath it, including an annex for the Secret Service.

“It’s very difficult to have a bunch of important people in the same place unless it’s really, really secure,” Graham said Monday. “The times in which we live are unusual. I’ve been up here for a while now, I’ve never felt the sense of threat that exists today.”

Graham said he will ask Senate Majority Leader John Thune to expedite the bill to a floor vote as soon as possible.

Along with most Senate Democrats, Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla. pushed back on the bill, saying Monday that it should be privately funded.

“We have $39 trillion in debt,” Scott said. “Maybe we ought to stop spending money.”

The National Trust for Historic Preservation has sued over the construction of the ballroom, and said Monday that it will not drop its lawsuit following the shooting.

“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,” National Trust for Historic Preservation attorney Gregory Craig wrote to the Justice Department.