Overview
- Senate Republicans released a reconciliation draft late Monday that would give the Secret Service $1 billion for security work tied to President Trump’s planned White House ballroom.
- The bill language limits the money to security features such as above‑ground and below‑ground protections and bars spending on non‑security parts of the East Wing project.
- The ballroom provision sits inside a broader package of roughly $70 billion that also pours tens of billions into Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection.
- Above‑ground construction remains paused under a federal court order requiring congressional authorization, as the administration points to the April 25 Correspondents’ Dinner attack to justify security changes.
- Critics note the White House had said private donors would pay for a ballroom now estimated at about $400 million, and polling shows roughly two‑to‑one public opposition to the project.