{"id":2602507,"date":"2026-05-14T06:45:01","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T10:45:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/lawmakers-want-more-answers-about-trumps-ballroom-funding\/"},"modified":"2026-05-14T06:46:53","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T10:46:53","slug":"lawmakers-want-more-answers-about-trumps-ballroom-funding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/lawmakers-want-more-answers-about-trumps-ballroom-funding\/","title":{"rendered":"Lawmakers want more answers about Trump&#8217;s ballroom funding"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Flawmakers-want-more-answers-about-trumps-ballroom-funding%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2602507&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Republicans are split and frustrated over a provision to fund about $1 billion in White House security upgrades tied to President Donald Trump\u2019s East Wing Modernization\/\u201cballroom\u201d plans. Lawmakers across different fiscal ideologies are pushing for more <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/grassley-looks-into-finances-of-board-calling-for-igs-removal\/\" title=\"Grassley looks into finances of board calling for IG&#039;s removal -\">detailed spending data<\/a>, and some argue that the ballroom should be privately paid rather than supported through federal funds.<\/p>\n<p>Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick have highlighted concerns about the openness and allocation of the money-Fitzpatrick supporting separating roughly $220 million for ballroom security from a <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >larger immigration enforcement package estimated<\/a> around $70 billion (with additional funds for other Secret Service training and security). Several GOP members say briefings from senior administration officials, including the Secret Service, have been insufficient, heightening worries about political risk ahead of the November midterm elections.<\/p>\n<p>even as Republican leadership moves to reduce the political heat by shifting messaging away from the \u201cballroom\u201d label toward a formal project name, the security funding\u2019s fate is uncertain. It must clear both party dynamics and technical constraints in the reconciliation process, including the Byrd rule, which limits what can be included.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p>Support for $1 billion in <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4557587\/democrats-eye-midterm-elections-opening-trump-ballroom-security-funding-fight\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4557587\/democrats-eye-midterm-elections-opening-trump-ballroom-security-funding-fight\/\">new security upgrades<\/a> at the White House is <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/4565549\/gop-heartburn-forces-message-pivot-money-trump-ballroom\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/4565549\/gop-heartburn-forces-message-pivot-money-trump-ballroom\/\">cratering among Republicans<\/a> over President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\">Donald Trump<\/a>\u2019s ballroom.<\/p>\n<p>Holdouts in both chambers span across the ideological spectrum, from centrists to fiscal hawks. Some are even demanding that the administration produce a more detailed accounting of how a portion of the federal funds would be spent on a ballroom that Trump has long promised would be fully paid through private donations and his own money.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4563016\/trump-ballroom-iran-war-affordability-gop\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Trump\u2019s focus on DC construction projects complicates GOP\u2019s affordability message<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4567640\/vance-johnson-run-cover-trump-financial-situation-gaffe\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Vance and Johnson run cover for Trump\u2019s \u2018financial situation\u2019 gaffe<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4567018\/jd-vance-pushes-states-root-out-medicaid-fraud-risk-losing-federal-funding\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Vance pushes states to root out Medicaid fraud or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-administration-wants-to-force-public-charter-schools-to-select-students-by-race\/\" title=\"Biden Administration Wants To Force Public Charter Schools To Select Students By Race\">risk losing federal funding<\/a><\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>There appears to be little more that Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) can do to persuade weary Republicans of greenlighting the security funding that\u2019s tucked into a party-line immigration enforcement bill. The ball now rests in the administration\u2019s court.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>\u201cI think we want to see that full breakdown,\u201d Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) said. \u201cIt\u2019s a pretty nice, round number. Convenient.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), co-chairman of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, advocated the portion for ballroom security, estimated to cost Secret Service $220 million, be stripped from the roughly $70 billion immigration enforcement legislation. The remaining $780 million would be used for Secret Service training and security measures unrelated to the ballroom, construction of which is being privately funded to the tune of about $400 million.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have a lot of needs in this country right now,\u201d Fitzpatrick said.<\/p>\n<p>The White House did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n<p>Republicans are racing to pass the bill in the coming weeks under the so-called budget reconciliation process that requires only a simple majority and cannot be blocked with a Senate filibuster. But the GOP is working on razor-thin margins. The episode marks the latest split between the White House and members of Congress, an increasing number of whom fear Trump\u2019s lack of focus on affordability issues will bite them in the November midterm elections.<\/p>\n<p>Sens. Rick Scott (R-FL) and John Curtis (R-UT) were also among GOP lawmakers who framed closed-door briefings from senior administration officials this week, including Secret Service Director Sean Curran, as inadequate. Sen. Jim Justice (R-WV) was likewise <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/ReedReports\/status\/2054316264428871740?s=20\">on the fence<\/a>, saying the figure \u201cseems like all the money in the world to me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re in this environment where there\u2019s a lot of important things. We don\u2019t have the money,\u201d Curtis said. \u201cWe\u2019re telling people at home, \u2018We don\u2019t have the money to do this and that.\u2019 So why should we be any different here?\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">President Donald Trump arrives at the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House after a shooting incident outside the ballroom at the annual White House Correspondents\u2019 Association Dinner in Washington, Saturday, April 25, 2026. (AP Photo\/Tom Brenner)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>House Republicans emerged from a private meeting Wednesday with Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin using a new talking point they said was further justification for the $1 billion in security funds.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you know that the Secret Service cannot take donations?\u201d said Rep. Buddy Carter (R-GA), a candidate for Senate. \u201cThat\u2019s why they\u2019re having to spend $15 million or $20 million [sic] to secure the ballroom.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Republican leaders are <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/4565549\/gop-heartburn-forces-message-pivot-money-trump-ballroom\/\">pivoting from the politically toxic \u201cballroom\u201d label<\/a> as they forge ahead, settling instead on variations of its official name \u2014 East Wing Modernization Project \u2014 to describe the tranche of security money. The Senate could pass the bill as early as next week and send it to the House. Thune estimated that \u201cmost of our members are prepared to support the funding for the Secret Service that\u2019s needed to enable them to do their jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/4565549\/gop-heartburn-forces-message-pivot-money-trump-ballroom\/\">GOP HEARTBURN FORCES MESSAGING PIVOT FROM \u2018BALLROOM\u2019 FOR TRUMP SECURITY MONEY<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The inclusion of the security provisions in what ultimately passes the Senate is far from certain. They\u2019ll have to withstand not only political muster but also the Byrd rule that governs which policies are allowed in reconciliation bills.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m not going to prejudge the product we get from the Senate,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cBut I certainly understand what the Secret Service\u2019s requests are.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Republicans fracture over Trump\u2019s $1B White House security plan-ballroom concerns spark demands for detailed spending breakdown<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4067,"featured_media":2602508,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AP26116148340051.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[79647,33926,34382,3634],"class_list":["post-2602507","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-ballroom-funding","tag-campaign-finance","tag-election-security","tag-trump"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AP26116148340051.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2602507","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4067"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2602507"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2602507\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2602511,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2602507\/revisions\/2602511"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2602508"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2602507"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2602507"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2602507"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}