A project once sold as privately funded is now at the centre of a taxpayer row after Senate Republicans attached $1 billion (£752 million) in security money to a border enforcement bill.
A Fox Newsreportshared that Senate Republicans have quietly added the funding to a sweeping immigration package that would send large sums to ICE, Border Patrol and other law enforcement agencies. The money is earmarked for the US Secret Service and described as security funding tied to Trump's White House ballroom and the wider East Wing Modernisation Project.
The proposal appears in the Senate Judiciary Committee's part of a broader reconciliation package focused on immigration enforcement. Fox News reported that the package includes nearly $31 billion (£23.3 billion) for ICE, $3.5 billion (£2.6 billion) for Customs and Border Protection, $2.5 billion (£1.9 billion) for the Department of Homeland Security and almost $1.5 billion (£1.1 billion) for the Department of Justice.
The ballroom-related money would go to the Secret Service for 'security adjustments and upgrades'. The language cited by Fox says it may fund 'above-ground and below-ground security features', while stating that the money cannot be used for 'non-security elements' of the East Wing Modernisation Project.
The White House had previously said private money would cover the ballroom. FactCheck.orgreportedlast year that the administration said Trump and 'other patriot donors' would pay for the 90,000-square-foot event space, while the president's estimated cost had risen to $300 million (£226 million) by October 2025.
Recent reporting has raised fresh questions about where private fundraising ends and public responsibility begins. Awrite-upreported that an October fundraising agreement directed donations towards the 'East Wing Modernization and State Ballroom project', while design plans included office space, a movie theatre, a kitchen, a two-storey colonnade and underground infrastructure.
That matters because the latest Senate proposal is far larger thanthe ballroom's earlier construction cost. An Associated Pressarticlerevealed that the $1 billion (£752 million) security figure exceeds the proposed $400 million (£301 million) building cost. AP also said the White House has described the project as heavily fortified, with possible underground security facilities, bomb shelters and drone defences.
A post shared by The Washington Post (@washingtonpost)
Republicans have leaned into the security argument sincethe incident at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner. Lawmakers pushed the ballroom after a man allegedly tried to storm the April 25 event with guns and knives.Senator Lindsey Graham argued it would be 'insane' to hold such a dinnerat the Washington Hilton again.
Future presidents, Graham and other supporters argue, need a secure space to host state dinners, media events and gatherings involving foreign leaders.
Source: International Business Times UK
