Senate Republicans Add $1 Billion for Trump White House Ballroom Security in Immigration Bill

Senate Republicans included $1 billion in taxpayer funding for security measures tied to President Donald Trump's White House ballroom in their immigration enforcement reconciliation package.

The GOP released the legislation late Monday night, with total spending set at $72 billion. The ballroom addition, which Trump first announced last year, drew earlier criticism for demolishing part of the East Wing and relying on outside funding that the administration called a taxpayer win. Republicans had mostly stayed away from the project until the third apparent assassination attempt against Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner at the Washington Hilton last month.

The funding sits in the Senate Judiciary Committee’s portion of the package. That section allocates nearly $31 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, $3.5 billion for Customs and Border Protection, $2.5 billion for the Department of Homeland Security and just under $1.5 billion for the Department of Justice.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, promoted his part of the bill as a stand against Democrats’ calls for open borders and defunding police. "Republicans won’t allow our country to be dragged backwards by Democrats’ radical, anti-law enforcement agenda," Grassley said in a statement.

The ballroom money goes to the Secret Service for security adjustments and upgrades, including above-ground and below-ground features. The legislation bars use of the funds for non-security elements of the East Wing Modernization Project.

Some Republicans wanted the reconciliation bill to focus on affordability, farmer aid or spending cuts. Senate Democrats quickly criticized the inclusion. "Republicans are on a different planet than American families," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said on X. "Republicans looked at families drowning in bills and decided what they really needed was more raids and a Trump ballroom."

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, led by Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., released its portion with nearly $33 billion in funding: over $19 billion for Customs and Border Protection, $7.5 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, nearly $3.5 billion for border security and $2.5 billion for the Department of Homeland Security.

"Senate Democrats refuse to vote for a single dollar to secure our borders or enforce our immigration laws, even against the most violent illegal aliens," Paul said in a statement. "To make sure those vital functions are funded, my committee will vote later this month to provide the funding needed."