Overview
- The Senate, following Sunday’s ruling by parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough, stripped a roughly $344 million to $400 million line that had been linked to the project.
- Republican leaders had tried to tuck the money into an immigration‑related security package to bypass the 60‑vote hurdle, but MacDonough said the language did not meet the special rules.
- The parliamentarian is the Senate’s nonpartisan rules referee who decides what provisions qualify for fast‑track treatment under narrow procedural standards.
- A White House memo put the ballroom’s share at about $220 million within a broader $1 billion security request that Republicans framed around safety needs, including an attempted attack at the White House correspondents’ dinner.
- Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said his caucus blocked the first try and will fight future efforts, Republicans signaled they may rewrite the text, Trump says private donors will pay and has touted a target opening around September 2028 as critics question the East Wing demolition and the project’s scale and style.