Senate Republicans have officially stripped a controversial provision that would have provided up to $1 billion for a proposed White House ballroom from their revised budget reconciliation package, dealing a significant setback to one of President Donald Trump’s most ambitious White House expansion plans.
The updated legislative text released Wednesday by the Senate Judiciary Committee confirms that funding for Trump’s proposed 90,000-square-foot White House ballroom has been removed after Republican senators agreed before the Memorial Day recess to pull the project from the package.
The decision marks a major reversal after Trump personally lobbied Senate Republicans for weeks to authorize funding for the project, arguing that a new ballroom would improve security and reduce reliance on outside venues for large government functions.
The ballroom proposal gained new attention after an armed man allegedly attempted to storm the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner at the Washington Hilton in April, an incident that Trump allies pointed to as evidence that major events should be held inside a secure White House complex rather than at private facilities.
Despite those arguments, Senate Republicans ultimately chose to focus the reconciliation package on border security, immigration enforcement, and homeland security spending.
Instead of funding the ballroom, the Judiciary Committee’s section of the legislation directs tens of billions of dollars toward immigration enforcement and border operations.
“The Secure America Act will ensure Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding is no longer held hostage by Democrats’ radical leftist agenda. Democrats’ irresponsible and partisan government shutdown will result in a more robust DHS, with the funds to fulfill its mission through 2029,” Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said in a statement accompanying the legislation.
Under the revised proposal, the Judiciary Committee would provide approximately $13 billion to Customs and Border Protection to hire, train, and retain personnel while fully funding Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations through 2029.
The bill would also provide $31.1 billion directly to ICE and another $2.5 billion to the Department of Homeland Security to ensure its national security and law enforcement operations continue even if Democrats oppose future DHS funding measures.
Additional funding included in legislation approved by the Senate Homeland Security Committee would provide $19.1 billion to hire, train, equip, and pay Customs and Border Protection personnel through 2029, along with $7.5 billion for Homeland Security Investigations personnel.
The Homeland Security title also includes $3.5 billion for border security improvements, including air and marine operations, and another $2.5 billion for broader DHS border security initiatives.
“What we’re proposing — and the bill we’ll be discussing today — is a bill that is targeted and is focused. And it is a vote for safe communities, not for criminals, specifically criminal illegal aliens. It is a vote for secure borders,” Senate Republican Whip John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) said.
The removal of the ballroom funding highlights lingering concerns among some Senate Republicans about including high-profile construction projects in a reconciliation package that is already expected to face intense scrutiny over its overall cost.
