Shooting outside White House Saturday’s correspondents’ dinner adds new urgency to President Donald Trump Trump’s new ballroom In the White House Project. Now, a group of Senate Republicans is pushing a bill to fund it, saying the program is no longer just about prestige but about national security.
One of Trump’s closest allies in Congress, Senator Lindsey Graham, is currently leading the push to build the ballroom.
According to The Hill, Graham joined forces with Senators Katie Britt (R-Ala.) and Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) to introduce a bill that would authorize the construction of a 90,000-square-foot presidential ballroom on the White House grounds, with a military complex and Secret Service annex underneath for emergency use.
Who will pay for the banquet hall?
this trump card The government has previously said the dance halls are privately funded and use “zero taxpayers’ money”. But now Graham’s bill proposes a different approach. He said Congress should fund it, The Hill reported.
“There’s going to be a lot of military equipment underneath it. There’s going to be a Secret Service annex and we offset it with customs fees. Private donations could be used, but I think they should be used for the purchase,” Senator Schmidt said. [fine] China and stuff like that. “
Schmidt also told reporters that national park fees will also cover the cost of the project.
Also read: What is OPEC, OPEC+ and why the UAE no longer wants to be a part of it
Where is the road to construction?
Construction of a new ballroom in the East Wing of the White House is already facing legal trouble. U.S. Judge Richard Leon said on March 31 that he had earlier ordered that all above-ground construction must stop until Congress approves the project. “The President of the United States is the steward of the White House for the descendants of the First Family. But he is not the master!” Leon wrote in his ruling.
An appeals court later allowed construction to continue temporarily until at least early June, giving the project more time, CBS News reported.
What does Trump say about the project?
Trump also addressed the military aspects of the project at a March 26 Cabinet meeting, saying the project was meant to be kept secret.
“I mean, it’s no secret now that the military wants it more than anyone,” he said.
“It was supposed to be a secret, but it became a secret because people were really unpatriotic and said some things, but that’s OK, that’s OK. It’s going to be great.”
He later described the ballroom as a form of cover for the underground structure.
“The ballroom essentially becomes a shed for what the military is building, including drones and everything else,” Trump said.
Trump also defended the need for the ballroom, saying the White House has lacked such a space for years. He said that the largest existing East Room can only accommodate about 125 people for formal dinners, and larger events can only be held in the tent on the South Lawn.
“I think this will be the best ballroom of its kind in the world,” Trump said.
