Senate Republicans want to fund Secret Service security upgrades related to President Donald Trump’s ballroom project as part of a nearly $72 billion package that would shovel cash to immigration enforcement agencies.
The proposal Senate Judiciary Republicans unveiled late Monday night — a piece of the forthcoming party-line bill to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol — would direct $1 billion to the Secret Service for “security adjustments and upgrades,” including at the White House. This is on top of the almost $3.3 billion the agency received already under the fiscal 2026 DHS funding bill signed into law Thursday.
The White House touted the security funding’s inclusion Tuesday, which it views as Congress approving a project that is currently mired in litigation. A federal judge ruled last month legislators had not properly authorized the project.
“The White House applauds Congress’s latest proposal in its reconciliation package which includes additional funding for security infrastructure upgrades in relation to the long overdue East Wing Modernization Project,” spokesperson Davis Ingle said in a statement. “Congress has rightly recognized the need for these funds.”
The fund could be used for Secret Service “enhancements” related to the East Wing project, “including above-ground and below-ground security features.” The text released by Senate Judiciary Republicans stipulates the funds cannot be used for nonsecurity aspects of the project.
All of the funds doled out in the package would remain available through Sept. 30, 2029 — past the end of Trump’s term.
Clare Slattery, a spokesperson for Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), said that the bill “does not fund ballroom construction” but “provides funds for Secret Service enhancements that will ensure all presidents, their families and their staffs are adequately protected.”
Two other congressional aides, granted anonymity to speak candidly, also said the legislation would not provide congressional authorization for the larger ballroom construction because the funds are limited to Secret Service security upgrades.
But the Trump administration and its political allies have argued in the wake of the shooting late last month at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner that the East Wing renovation is necessary for security. Trump has personally pointed to the security features the ballroom would have, including thick bulletproof glass, and administration lawyers argued in court that security concerns justified continuing with the project.
“I’m building a safe ballroom, and one of the reasons I’m building it is exactly what happened last night,” he said on CBS’ “60 Minutes” the day after the shooting.
Ingle, in his statement Tuesday, said the “the proposal would provide the United States Secret Service with the resources they need to fully and completely harden the White House complex, in addition to the many other critical missions for the USSS.”
The $1 billion fund is part of the party-line package Republicans are aiming to clear for Trump’s signature by month’s end. It is more than double the $400 million Trump has estimated for the ballroom project, which he has said will be privately financed.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who has offered a separate bill to fund the project, told reporters late last month that he envisioned a bunker underneath the ballroom for Secret Service and other national security needs.
Democrats quickly seized on the Secret Service provision and hinted they will force a vote on the Senate floor later this month when Republicans try to pass the overall package.
“Just flagging that now everyone gets an up or down vote on the ballroom!” Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) wrote on X.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer added that “Republicans looked at families drowning in bills and decided what they really needed was more raids and a Trump ballroom.”
The bill from the Senate Judiciary Committee would total nearly $40 billion, including more than $30 billion for ICE, with smaller amounts for Customs and Border Protection, the Homeland Security secretary’s office and the Justice Department.
The Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee also released a bill Monday outlining more than $32.5 billion in spending for immigration enforcement as part of the enforcement package — most of it for CBP agencies, including Border Patrol.
Republicans want to bring the immigration enforcement funding measure to the floor the week of May 18. Senate Homeland Security Chair Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said in a statement he planned to hold a vote on his panel’s bill later in May.
In addition to trying to squeeze Republicans over the East Wing project, Democrats are planning to comb through the legislation for any procedural defects they can exploit. To skirt the chamber’s 60-vote filibuster, a reconciliation bill has to comply with strict guidelines known as the Byrd rule.
“Senate Democrats are prepared to review this bill line by line and vigorously challenge any provision that violates the Byrd Rule,” said Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley, the top Democrat on the Budget Committee.
“At a time when gas prices are rising every day due to Trump’s war of choice with Iran and families continue to struggle to buy groceries, Republicans are ignoring the needs of middle-class America and instead funneling money into Trump’s ballroom and throwing billions at two lawless agencies — agencies that are already sitting on over $100 billion in unspent funds,” he added.
Jennifer Scholtes contributed to this report.
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