Senate Republicans Advance DHS Funding Bill with $1 Billion for White House East Wing Security

WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans return to Washington on Monday from a week-long recess to advance their plan for funding Department of Homeland Security immigration agencies without Democratic support.

The package includes $1 billion for Secret Service security adjustments and upgrades linked to President Trump's East Wing Modernization Project at the White House. The 90,000-square-foot overhaul features a massive ballroom along with revamped underground national security and health care facilities. The bill permits spending on above-ground and below-ground security features.

Last week, Republicans on the Senate Judiciary and Homeland Security committees released legislative text to fund DHS immigration enforcement through fiscal year 2029. The $72 billion measure allocates more than $38 billion to Immigration and Customs Enforcement and $26 billion to Customs and Border Protection.

Trump announced the East Wing makeover last July. Crews demolished the structure by October, and the administration moved fast on the project, which it calls essential for security and large events. The president renewed the effort after the White House Correspondents' Dinner shooting late last month.

Construction faced court challenges. A judge blocked the project temporarily in late March, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia lifted the order last month. The next hearing is June 5.

The White House praised the security funds in the Senate package last week. "Congress has rightly recognized the need for these funds," it said in a statement.

"As President Trump has repeatedly said, the White House must be a safe and secure complex that generations of future presidents and visitors to the People's house can enjoy," spokesman Davis Ingle said.

The text bars use of the funds for non-security project elements. Trump has said repeatedly that the ballroom comes from donations, not taxpayer money. Democrats call the allocation proof of GOP backing for the unpopular project.

"At a time when Americans can't make ends meet, Republicans say 'Let them eat cake' — and then hand Trump a billion dollars to build a ballroom to serve it in," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York wrote in a letter to Senate Democrats on Monday.

Schumer vowed his caucus would fight the plan "with every tool we have." Democrats lack the votes to block it without GOP help.

Republicans hold a 53-seat Senate majority. Budget reconciliation lets them pass measures with direct budgetary impact on a simple majority vote, bypassing the 60-vote threshold most bills need.

The White House security funds may complicate matters for Republicans in both chambers and expose lawmakers in tight races before November elections.