Senate Democrats are reportedly keen to force Republicans to vote on plans to inject a further $1 billion into President Donald Trump’s massively over-budget White House ballroom project.
On Monday, Sen. Chuck Grassley, the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, slipped the proposal to direct $1 billion to the Secret Service for “security adjustments and upgrades,” including at the White House for Trump’s ballroom project, into a broader reconciliation package to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol through fiscal 2029.
The move sparked uproar from Democrats, including Democrat Sen. Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, who slammed it as “an outrageous betrayal of hardworking families who want lower costs, not a golden ballroom.”
Sen. Patty Murray issued a scathing rebuke of the move. Annabelle Gordon/REUTERS
Trump previously said the project would be privately funded.
The size of the ballroom will dwarf the White House. Eric Lee/Getty Images
“Republicans are ignoring middle-class needs and funneling money into Trump’s ballroom while throwing billions at two lawless agencies,” Democrat Sen. Jeff Merkley, the top Democrat on the Budget Committee, said of the proposal, Axios reported on Wednesday.
Sen. Jeff Merkley criticized the Trump administration over the proposal. ERIC THAYER/REUTERS
DNC Rapid Response Director Kendall Witmer tore into the Trump administration, criticizing the timing of the proposal as Americans struggle with the cost-of-living crisis.
“While working families are struggling to afford even higher prices on everything from gas to groceries to healthcare, Donald Trump and Republicans are selling out everyday Americans to pay for Trump’s vanity projects,” Witmer said in a statement.
The ballroom is expected to be completed in late 2028, coinciding with the end of Trump's term in office. The Washington Post via Getty Images
“Trump and Republicans claimed there was no money for healthcare or food assistance—but now they want to force Americans to cough up $1 billion for Trump’s ballroom after footing the bill for Trump’s war with Iran and his tax cuts for billionaires. It’s Trump first, Americans last,” she added.
The proposal comes as the president and his allies have intensified calls for construction of the 90,000-square-foot ballroom to proceed, following the assassination attempt against Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner on April 25.
A federal judge had halted the project on March 31, ruling that the 79-year-old president lacked the authority to tear down the East Wing and build the costly ballroom. However, a U.S. appeals court last month permitted construction to resume pending the outcome of the legal challenge brought by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
The Daily Beast revealed in December that the president’s ballroom project would be located on the second level of a newly constructed two-story building. It is expected to be connected to the president’s primary residence.
Trump’s round of aggressive renovations began when he returned to the White House for a second term last year.
He has also gilded the Oval Office with rococo mirrors, gold medallions, and eagle figurines, erected oversized flagpoles on the grounds, and announced plans to build a triumphal arch across from the Lincoln Memorial—a so-called “Arc de Trump.”
The ballroom is expected to be completed in late 2028, coinciding with the end of his term in office.
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.