Senate Axes $1 Billion Ballroom Security From DHS Bill
Senate Republicans on Wednesday formally advanced a reconciliation package funding the Department of Homeland Security after removing a $1 billion Secret Service appropriation linked to security upgrades associated with President Donald Trump’s White House ballroom project.
Construction on the ballroom is underway on the site of the former East Wing, though it remains unclear how the Senate’s decision will affect the project. Trump has said the ballroom would be funded through private donations, including his own.
Last month, the Senate Judiciary and Homeland Security committees released the initial text of the $72 billion package, which funds immigration agencies through fiscal 2029, roughly the end of Trump’s second term. The original proposal included $1 billion for security upgrades tied to the ballroom project and other measures raised after the assassination attempt against Trump during the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in April.
Administration officials later said only about $200 million would be directed to the ballroom, with the rest funding other security efforts.
Senate GOP leaders acknowledged the provision would have jeopardized the broader immigration package after the Senate parliamentarian ruled it violated reconciliation rules. According to The Hill, Republicans agreed before the Memorial Day recess to remove the funding and made the decision official Wednesday.
Had the language remained, the bill would have required 60 votes to advance, allowing Democrats to filibuster and potentially block roughly $70 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection.
The White House said the change resulted from parliamentary rules, not political pressure.
The Senate on Wednesday began a series of procedural votes aimed at passing the package and sending it to the House for final approval.
