Photo: Oliver Contreras/AFP/Getty Images

Nearly one year ago, the president posted this announcement on Truth Social: “Just inspected the site of the new Ballroom that will be built, compliments of a man known as Donald J. Trump, at the White House.”

Like many Americans, you probably assumed that meant our billionaire president would be financing the ballroom himself. Months later, the official announcement said the White House ballroom would actually be paid for by “President Trump and other patriot donors.” Nevertheless, Trump has always presented the ballroom as a generous gift that won’t cost American taxpayers anything.

So you may be surprised to learn Republicans now want to spend $1 billion in taxpayer funding on it.

The text of the latest GOP budget-reconciliation bill, released by the Senate Judiciary Committee and Senate Homeland Security Committee on Monday, includes $1 billion in public funding for “security adjustments and upgrades” to the East Wing Modernization Project (the official name for the ballroom). Since the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting, Trump and other Republicans have been insisting that the project, which has been partially halted by a federal judge, must go ahead.

The money would go to the Secret Service and could not be used for “non-security elements” of the ballroom. This may not be a very meaningful limitation. The text doesn’t get more specific, and in court, Trump attorneys have argued the whole project is related to national security.

This funding is just a small part of the $72 billion reconciliation package, which also includes massive amounts of additional money for things like ICE and Border Patrol. Republicans are rushing to push through more filibusterproof reconciliation bills before the end of the year in case they lose the House or Senate in the midterms. As NOTUS explains, “The committee is expected to mark up the bill next week before sending it to the full chamber, where it will likely pass via a simple-majority vote.”

So is Trump really paying for the White House ballroom as he said he would? Assuming this bill passes, here’s the latest ballroom cost breakdown:

$1 billion from taxpayers for “security adjustments and upgrades.”

$400 million (roughly) from “patriot donors.” This includes dozens of people and companies that have business with the federal government — such as Amazon, Lockheed Martin, Palantir, and Google — and donors who want to (roughly) from “patriot donors.” This includes dozens of people and companies that have business with the federal government — such as Amazon, Lockheed Martin, Palantir, and Google — and donors who want to remain anonymous for unspecified but definitely not corrupt reasons. We know Trump put $24.5 million from his settlement with YouTube into the ballroom fund, but it’s unclear if he has contributed anything beyond that.

Does that mean the White House’s constant ballroom refrain — “It’s not going to cost taxpayers a dime!” — is all a lie? Well, that may depend on how you interpret the administration’s original statement on the ballroom:

President Trump, and other patriot donors, have generously committed to donating the funds necessary to build this approximately $200 million dollar structure. The United States Secret Service will provide the necessary security enhancements and modifications.

Trump recently insisted “everyone knew” that his promise not to “interfere with the current building” meant he was about to knock down a third of the White House. Similarly, perhaps we were supposed to infer that “Secret Service” meant “taxpayers,” “necessary” meant “astoundingly expensive,” and “patriot donors” meant “all taxpaying Americans — though only Trump and his pals will enjoy the perks.”