Senate Republicans are pushing to spend $1 billion in taxpayer money on President Donald Trump’s White House ballroom project, wrapping the massive funding proposal inside a much larger piece of legislation.
Donald Trump’s Ballroom gets proposal of $1 billion for security upgrades
Senate Republicans have proposed $1 billion in White House security upgrades as part of immigration enforcement legislation, PBS News reports. The funding would support U.S. Secret Service “security adjustments and upgrades” related to President Donald Trump’s ballroom project. The move follows Cole Tomas Allen’s alleged attempt to assassinate Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner on April 25.
The GOP bill, released late Monday, specifies the money would support “above-ground and below-ground security features.” The legislation also states that the funds may not cover non-security elements of the project. White House spokesperson Davis Ingle called the project “long overdue” and said it would “provide the United States Secret Service with the resources they need to fully and completely harden the White House complex.”
The $1 billion figure far exceeds the ballroom’s proposed $400 million construction cost. Court documents reveal the East Wing project would include bomb shelters, military installations, and a medical facility. Trump has also called for bulletproof glass and drone-attack defenses.
The funding sits within a larger bill covering Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol. Democrats have blocked funds for both agencies since mid-February. Republicans are using a partisan budget maneuver to push the dollars through independently. The Senate plans to begin voting on its version next week.
The White House previously stated private money would fund construction while public money would cover security. Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina introduced a bill to publicly fund the entire ballroom. Graham called hosting future dinners at hotels “insane” after the security breach.
Democrats oppose any public funding for the project. Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin said Republicans are “focused on providing tens of billions of dollars for the President’s vanity ballroom project and cruel mass deportation campaign.” The National Trust for Historic Preservation has sued to block construction, but a federal appeals court allowed it to continue.
Originally reported by Vritti Johar on Mandatory.com.
