Republican senators, typically quick to support President Donald Trump's agenda, are showing unease over the inclusion of $1 billion in a funding bill for a new ballroom at the White House. The expenditure, part of a bill to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement, has sparked criticism amid voter anger over the economy.
Republican Concerns Over Spending
Sen. Jim Justice (R-W.Va.) expressed discomfort with the price tag, noting that many Americans are struggling financially. “I can’t get my hands around the fact that a lot of people are really hurting, and they see a billion dollars, and a billion dollars is an awful, awful, awful lot of money,” Justice told HuffPost. “To think that it’s going to cost a billion dollars — I mean, that’s a thousand millions.”
The $1 billion allocation is designated for the Secret Service “for the purposes of security adjustments and upgrades, including within the perimeter fence of the White House Compound to support enhancements by the United States Secret Service relating to the East Wing Modernization Project.” This is widely seen as a euphemism for Trump’s ballroom project, which began with the demolition of the historic East Wing during last year’s government shutdown without public notice.
Secret Service Briefing
Secret Service Director Sean Curran briefed Republican senators on Tuesday, stating that only 20% of the $1 billion would go to the ballroom. The rest, he said, would fund training facilities, technology, and other security needs. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) echoed this, telling reporters, “Most of it’s going to be used for other purposes, training facilities, for technology, lots of other things that law enforcement, particularly in this case, Secret Service, needs to ensure that they keep our president and other top officials safe.”
However, some senators remain skeptical. Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.) said before the briefing, “It’s for security, supposedly, I don’t know exactly. Nobody’s broken it down yet.” After the meeting, Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.) demanded more details, stating, “They need to go back and get us more details about exactly how they arrived at the figure.”
Budget Reconciliation Process
The ballroom funding is attached to an ICE funding bill that Republicans are advancing through budget reconciliation, a process that allows passage with 50 votes in the Senate, bypassing the usual 60-vote threshold. The process prohibits “extraneous matter” without budgetary effect, but attaching a $1 billion expenditure helps meet the requirement. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, indicated that Republicans are considering removing the ballroom provision. “That’s what’s going on right now. So you’ll have to ask me that question at the end of this week,” he said.
Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) was blunt when asked if he liked the ballroom: “It’s not my favorite thing.”
Democratic Opposition
Democrats are aggressively opposing the ballroom funding. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) criticized the spending on the Senate floor, asking, “Ask Americans how many people want to see a billion dollars for a ballroom and no money to help reduce the cost of food, the cost of electricity, the cost of housing, the cost of childcare.” Schumer vowed to force difficult amendment votes and challenge the provision in meetings with the parliamentarian.
The legal basis for the ballroom project remains shaky. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon halted construction in March, noting that Congress has authorized all prior White House upgrades and that federal law explicitly forbids major construction without congressional approval: “A building or structure shall not be erected on any reservation, park, or public grounds of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia without express authority of Congress.” The White House has appealed the order, but the legal challenge has merit.
