Donald Trump’s White House ballroom funding hits roadblock in US Senate

Senate Democrats said Sen. Elizabeth McDonald, who advises lawmakers on the House’s complex procedural rules, concluded the spending did not comply with Senate budget rules, although Republicans plan to try to rewrite the bill to make it comply.

“Republicans tried to make taxpayers pay for Trump’s multibillion-dollar ballroom. Senate Democrats fought back and defeated their first attempt,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said in a statement.

Ryan Wrasse, a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader John Thune, said they would rewrite the legislation.

“Re-drafted, polished, resubmitted. None of this is an anomaly in the Byrd process,” he posted on X. The so-called Byrd rule process determines whether a provision complies with budget rules that allow certain fiscal legislation to pass with a simple majority.

Democrats say they will continue to oppose the project.

“The American people should not spend a dime on Trump’s gilded ballroom folly,” said Sen. Jeff Merkley, the top Democrat on the Senate Budget Committee.

Senate Republican leaders and the White House had sought to include $1 billion in security upgrades related to East Wing projects in a partisan budget bill that they had otherwise created specifically to pay for immigration enforcement. The administration told Republicans this week that $220 million of the funding will be used to secure the new East Wing and the remainder will be used for other security upgrades.

Republicans are seeking to overcome Democratic opposition to dance hall funding that circumvents Senate filibuster rules. The filibuster exception applies only to budget legislation, and all provisions must be primarily fiscal in nature, not policy items, and meet other technical requirements.

According to Democrats, McDonough concluded that the provision, as drafted, required 60 votes because it funded activities that fell outside the jurisdiction of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

While Republicans could try to rewrite their bill to appease McDonough’s procedural concerns and continue funding the ballroom, it’s unclear whether the project has the support of enough Republicans to pass in the House or Senate. Republican leaders and the White House believe a new ballroom is needed to protect the president after a gunman was arrested trying to enter the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., told reporters Friday he would vote against the funding, saying his constituents wanted him to focus on affordability, not dance clubs.

Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Rand Paul of Kentucky questioned why the money was needed when Trump initially said the ballroom project would be paid for entirely by private donations.

McDonough’s recommendation was generally accepted by senators, although technically the ruling was made by the Senate’s presiding officer. Some Republicans have suggested ignoring her suggestions in the past, but that’s highly unlikely because senators view the tactic as tantamount to eliminating the filibuster, a practice many of them still cherish.