In the wake of theshooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, topRepublicanswant to use $400 million in taxpayer funds onPresident Donald Trump’s White Houseballroom project, arguing the new building is vital for national security. This comes despite past promises from the president the ballroom would be entirely funded by private donations.
“It’s very difficult to have a bunch of important people in the same place unless it’s really, really secure,” Sen. Lindsey Graham told reporters on 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 and his GOP colleagues Sen. Eric Schmitt and Sen. Katie Britt are pushing a bill to fund the ballroom and offset costs by using customs and national parks user fees. The proposal includes building new military andSecret Service infrastructurewithin the ballroom complex.
Graham said the White House supports his effort, despite the president’s frequent claims that he and private donors were personally funding the entire ballroom project. The White House has previously said major tech corporations, including those that do business with the federal government and donated to Trump’s inauguration, havecommitted millions to funding the ballroom.
The Independenthas contacted theWhite Housefor comment.
Fellow Republicans have joined the effort to boost the ballroom, which the White House argues is more crucial than ever after the security breach at the Correspondents’ Dinner.
Sen. Rand Paul has said he will bring a bill to the floor Tuesday that moves the ballroom project forward without using additional taxpayer funds, while allowing Congress to give expedited reviews to major White House projects.
In the House, Rep. Lauren Boebert is working on companion legislation, she said Monday.
She told the MeidasTouch network that “hardly any” taxpayer money would be involved in the effort. The main obstacle remaining, she said, was an ongoing lawsuit by a preservation group against the ballroom project.
“He has it funded,” Boebert said of the president. “We just have to get it approved and get the lawsuit over with.”
Source: Drudge Report
