Wary of the terrible election-year optics, some federalRepublican legislators are less-than-enthusiastic about approving a request for a billion dollars in security funding relating to President Trump's White House ballroom project. Some of them shared those feelings with reporters after they received a Tuesday afternoon closed-door briefing by Secret Service Director Sean Curran.

When he first rolled out the 90,000-square-foot ballroom project,Trump repeatedly emphasized that the project would cost $200 million and be funded entirely with private donations. Now the ballroom itself is projected to cost $400 million -- still privately-funded -- but with another $1 billion in federal funding being poured into security provisions.

“I think the timing and the optics are really bad,” North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis told reporters Monday. “This time last year, roughly, maybe a little bit before, we were all impressed with the fact that this $400 million building was going to be paid for out of the generosity of donors, andnow we’re hearing 2½ times that is necessaryfor some other aspect of the project.”The ballroom funds are supposed to be part of the ICE and Border Patrol billthat's considered as a GOP must-have.

In his briefing to legislators,Curran provided an itemization of the big-ticket itemscomprising that $1 billion request. “He walked through the various categories,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said. “So it was a good back-and-forth, a good discussion, and obviously we had a lot of questions that were asked by our colleagues, just to get the details and precision as much as possible about how dollars will be used.”

According to theWashington Post, the categories include:

Following the briefing, Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall, who routinely votes as Trump wishes, was non-committal.“I still got some more questions,and they’re going to send us more information...I'm undecided." Similarly, Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy, said he has "a lot" of questions of his own, adding that "One of the biggest concerns on our side is adding to the deficit."

TRUMP: "We have a ballroom that's under budget. It's going up right here. I doubled the size of it because we obviously need that."REPORTER: "The price has doubled..."TRUMP: "I doubled the size of it, you dumb person. I doubled the size. You are not a smart person."pic.twitter.com/iC03NPPEye

Others were more candid. "Not happening here," said Pennsylvania Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, when asked if the House was likely to approve the funding. Asked if he'd personally vote for it, he gave reporters a blunt "no." Asked abouthow the price tag looks to Americans being hammered at the gas pumpby the fruits of the Trump-Netanyahu war on Iran, Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski replied, "Not good."

The ballroom project increasingly seems likea midyear election gift from a tone-deaf Trump administration to Democratic candidates across the nation. In a recent poll, Americans oppose it by a lopsided56%-to-28%margin. More than the cost itself, it's the juxtaposition of what looks like a vanity project against increasing financial hardships being imposed on everyday Americans by the war on Iran and Trump's tariffs.

On Tuesday,Trump handed more such campaign fodder to Democratswhen -- asked if Americans' financial woes were a motivator for making a peace deal with Iran -- Trump said, "Not even a little bit. The only thing that matters when I’m talking about Iran — they can’t have a nuclear weapon.I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation." Though he was clearly trying to emphasize the (dubious) security narrative behind the war, his failure to express empathy for struggling families turned his remark into a political weapon.

Source: ZeroHedge News