Senate Republicans have tucked a $1 billion allocation for White House security upgrades into a new immigration enforcement package, with language that appears designed to fund protective measures connected to Donald Trump's planned East Wing ballroom.
The funding request was included in legislation released Monday by Senator Chuck Grassley, the Iowa Republican who chairs the Senate judiciary committee. The bill proposes money for "security adjustments and upgrades, including within the perimeter fence of the White House Compound to support enhancements by the United States Secret Service relating to the East Wing Modernization Project, including above-ground and below-ground security features."
The language explicitly bars the funds from being used for "non-security elements" of the East Wing project, which refers to the reconstruction effort following the demolition of that wing to make room for the ballroom.
Grassley's office defended the spending in a statement, saying the funds are intended solely for Secret Service protection enhancements rather than ballroom construction itself. A spokesperson cited three attempted assassinations against the current president and an armed incident at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner in April as justification for the enhanced security investment.
The White House echoed that rationale, with a spokesperson telling NBC News that Congress had "rightly recognized the need for these funds" and that the Secret Service requires resources to "fully and completely harden the White House complex."
The administration has previously said the ballroom's construction, which faces ongoing court challenges, will be financed by private donors including Meta, Apple, Amazon, Lockheed Martin, Microsoft, Palantir, Google and Comcast.
Democrats immediately pounced on the proposal. Senator Richard Durbin of Illinois, the ranking Democrat on the judiciary committee, accused Republicans of prioritizing "the President's vanity ballroom project" over economic relief for struggling Americans. He characterized the measure as a partisan effort to bypass the traditional bipartisan appropriations process.
Senator Brian Schatz of Hawaii took to social media to note that the spending now subjects the ballroom to direct congressional scrutiny, tweeting that "now everyone gets an up or down vote on the ballroom."
The larger immigration enforcement package that carries this provision is expected to move through the Republican-controlled Senate on party lines, as GOP leadership pushes forward with funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other agencies involved in the administration's deportation initiatives.
Author James Rodriguez: "Burying a billion-dollar ballroom project inside an immigration bill is classic legislative sleight of hand, and Democrats aren't going to let it pass quietly."
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