Are Republicans Seeking $1 Billion in Taxpayer Money to Pay for Trump’s White House Ballroom?
The measure would use reconciliation to bypass a filibuster, and critics say the security label could shift ballroom costs to taxpayers.
- On May 4, Senate Republicans introduced legislation seeking $1 billion in federal funding for White House security upgrades, including the East Wing Modernization Project that features President Donald Trump's planned ballroom.
- Trump previously insisted the project would be privately funded, initially estimating costs at $200 million before raising the figure to $400 million, contradicting past assertions that taxpayers would not pay.
- The Justice Department cited "missile resistant steel columns" and "ballistic and blast proof glass" as necessary security measures, though architect Sara Bronin, a law professor at the George Washington University Law School, warned taxpayers could foot most of the bill without strict Congressional constraints.
- Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Rep. Marcy Kaptur criticized the proposal, with Kaptur arguing Republicans "want you to pay $1 Billion for a ballroom." Schumer wrote the GOP is "on a different planet than American families."
- The bill awaits a vote as part of a reconciliation package requiring only a simple majority, though it remains unclear how much of the $1 billion will explicitly support the ballroom versus other mandated security upgrades.
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34 Articles
Reader's View: Stauber silent on foreign steel for ballroom
It was nice to see Rep. Pete Stauber come out of hiding to loudly tout President Donald Trump’s removal of a protection for the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness — supposedly because both men care so much about mining jobs in Minnesota. I have a question that hopefully Stauber can answer: If Trump cares about miners in Minnesota, why is he planning to use foreign steel to build his illegal White House ballroom, as the News Tribune reported A…
Susan Collins Won’t Say If She Backs Trump’s Ballroom
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) ducked a question on whether she supports a move from her fellow Republicans to use $1 billion in public money for security-related aspects of President Trump’s White House ballroom project, the Portland Press Herald reports.
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