{"id":15855,"date":"2026-04-28T09:16:25","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T01:16:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=15855"},"modified":"2026-04-28T09:16:31","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T01:16:31","slug":"congressional-republicans-are-split-on-using-taxpayer-funds-to-build-trumps-ballroom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=15855","title":{"rendered":"Congressional Republicans are split on using taxpayer funds to build Trump’s ballroom"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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President Donald Trump\u2019s top allies are pushing for Congress to fund a costly White House ballroom after the president was evacuated from a dinner Saturday in a sprawling hotel ballroom where a gunman breached a security checkpoint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Republicans are divided on whether to make taxpayers foot the bill, with some preferring to let Trump raise money privately to construct the 90,000-square foot ballroom. And Democrats remain firmly opposed, meaning it would be a heavy lift for Republicans to pass a bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Monday, a trio of Republicans senators \u2014 Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Katie Britt of Alabama and Eric Schmitt of Missouri \u2014 announced legislation to provide $400 million to build a new ballroom on the White House grounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAmerica has a problem, and we intend to fix it,\u201d Graham told reporters. \u201cThis is not about Trump. It\u2019s about the presidency of the United States. It\u2019s about the person who occupies that office not being put at risk if they choose to go off campus.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Graham said the money could be partially offset with \u201ccustom fees\u201d but that it shouldn\u2019t be left to private money. Underneath, he said, there will be “military stuff” and a “Secret Service annex.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPrivate donations can be used, but I think they should be used for buying china and stuff like that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other Republicans told NBC News on Monday that the project should be done with private funding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know why you would do it\u201d with taxpayer money \u201cif it\u2019s all funded,” said Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., a Trump ally and spending hawk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have $39 trillion in debt,\u201d he added. \u201cMaybe we ought to stop spending money.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said there\u2019s a legal question about whether Congress has to vote to allow the White House to do major reconstruction on the White House property. But when it comes to funding, he said he prefers private over public funds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think that the donors should all be public, but I don\u2019t know why, if you\u2019ve got private donors who want to do it \u2026 I prefer that to the taxpayer being on the hook,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I think it\u2019s a separate question as to whether we need to authorize it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said he too doesn\u2019t favor using taxpayer funds for the new ballroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am always conservative, and he already has the money,\u201d Paul said. \u201cAnd I\u2019m not against putting in reconciliation and doing a nominal amount. I\u2019m not for funding the whole $500 million. I think he\u2019s already raised the money through private means.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Comcast Corp., the parent company of NBC News, is among the corporate donors for Trump\u2019s ballroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asked to respond to fellow Republicans who oppose taxpayer funds, Graham said: \u201cJust vote no. All I ask you to do is vote. I don\u2019t care how you vote. I want a vote. I want to see: Where is America on this? I\u2019ll bet you 90% of the people would love to have a better facility than the Hilton hotel to make sure this crap never happens again. \u2026 There are people out there just one click away from picking up a gun or something else and trying to make America better by killing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not a private donation event \u2014 it\u2019s a national security event.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, Democrats remain overwhelmingly opposed to the project and argue that Trump has broken the law by failing to get approval from Congress before demolishing the East Wing and pursuing the project, which has been subject to lawsuits. They also say the use of private money lends itself to corruption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That position remains, even as they denounce what law enforcement has called an assassination attempt on Trump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no room for political violence in the United States of America. I\u2019m glad the president is safe. I\u2019m glad the Secret Service did its job. It is also just a fact that the private events happen outside of the White House, and so we can\u2019t be society where there\u2019s no public events and everything happens in a reinforced ballroom,\u201d Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, said. \u201cSo whether there would ever be 60 votes for for a ballroom \u2014 I haven\u2019t counted yet, but I also haven\u2019t found any Democrat who says yes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One Democrat who has spoken out in favor of building a ballroom since the Saturday dinner is Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, often the first to buck his party. He suggested Sunday that opponents of the project have \u201cTrump derangement syndrome.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAfter witnessing last night, drop the TDS and build the White House ballroom for events exactly like these,\u201d Fetterman said on X, without specifying whether it should receive taxpayer funds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It appears highly unlikely that the ballroom legislation will get the 60 votes needed to pass the Senate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some Republicans are discussing whether to put the money into a party-line bill they\u2019ve begun advancing to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection. Making changes to that bill, which only requires a simple majority to pass, could slow efforts to reopen the Department of Homeland Security amid a record-long shutdown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Graham, who is shepherding that process as the chair of the Budget Committee, said his preference is to pass his ballroom bill through the regular process requiring 60 votes in the Senate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut if it doesn\u2019t work, I\u2019m for doing it anyway we can,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said he doesn’t know that the ballroom can be funded by reconciliation, saying the existing budget only applies to other committees. “There are only two committees instructed judiciary and homeland security. But, you know, we\u2019ll see what\u2019s achievable,” he told reporters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Monday, the Justice Department charged Cole Tomas Allen, 31, a teacher and engineer from California, with attempting to assassinate Trump at the annual White House Correspondents\u2019 Association dinner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Authorities said he ran through a security checkpoint in the Washington Hilton armed with a shotgun, handgun and knives and exchanged gunfire with law enforcement. He was prevented from entering the ballroom where the president, Vice President JD Vance, Speaker Mike Johnson, and others in the line of succession were attending the dinner, the criminal complaint released Monday said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Authorities said Allen had sent family members a note before the shooting saying he was targeting Trump administration officials, many who were in the ballroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe White House ballroom project is not just a fun project for President Trump \u2026 it is actually critical for our national security that a larger, secure building on this complex, which is the most secure complex in the world, is built to accommodate not only large amounts of guests, but also the president, the vice president, members of the Cabinet,\u201d White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe line of succession in this country should be able to gather free and safely without the fear of threats or political violence,\u201d said Leavitt, who had been sitting at the head table with Trump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johnson, who can be seen on video being quickly evacuated by his security detail, told reporters: \u201cThey\u2019re going to have to re-evaluate this. This is why we need the ballroom\u2026 We need a facility that is secure enough to host events like this without having major national security concerns.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., criticized the ballroom project when asked about it Monday, saying the U.S. national security priority should be to end the war in Iran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have not seen a specific request with respect to the ballroom. But needless to say, we have to drive down the high cost of living. Life has become more expensive,\u201d Jeffries told reporters, while calling on Congress to focus on other things. \u201cNot a vanity project that resulted from the destruction \u2014 that was unauthorized \u2014 of the East Wing of the White House.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

President Donald Trump\u2019s top allies are pushing for Congress to fund a costly White House ballroom after the president was evacuated from a dinner Saturday in a sprawling hotel ballroom where a gunman breached a security checkpoint. 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