MacDonough rejects bid to add ballroom funding to $72B bill as lawmakers seek details

WASHINGTON, DC: The Senate parliamentarian rejected Republicans’ budget reconciliation bill as they tried to include $1 billion in funding for White House and Secret Service security, and part of that money was connected to Donald Trump’s planned White House ballroom project.

However, Elizabeth MacDonough, the Senate official responsible for deciding whether items follow Senate budget rules, said the provision could not stay in the bill in its current form.

Both Republicans and Democrats already expected the parliamentarian might reject this provision because it likely did not fit reconciliation requirements.

Writing a post on social media, Ryan Wrasse, spokesman for Senate Majority Leader John Thune, said that Republicans would keep trying to revise the legislation to try to gain the parliamentarian's approval.

"Redraft. Refine. Resubmit," Wrasse wrote on X. "None of this is abnormal during a Byrd process."

Reps tried to pass money as part $72B package

Republicans tried to include Trump ballroom-related funding inside a large $72 billion package that mainly focused on immigration enforcement and border security.

They tried to pass money as part of the package through budget reconciliation, because reconciliation only requires a simple majority vote in the Senate (51 votes), instead of the usual 60 votes.

MacDonough ruled that the security funding provision falls under chamber rules that require 60 votes to pass most legislation, according to the office of Sen. Jeff Merkley, the Senate Budget Committee ranking member.

"While we expect Republicans to change this bill to appease Trump, Democrats are prepared to challenge any change to this bill," Merkley said.

Senate Republicans seek details on Trump $1B request

The parliamentarian interprets Senate rules, including whether legislative provisions are permitted. While MacDonough is nonpartisan by Senate standards

Elizabeth MacDonough’s ruling came days after several Senate Republicans raised concerns over the Trump administration’s $1 billion request, with some lawmakers saying they needed more details before supporting taxpayer funding for a project Donald Trump has repeatedly said would be privately financed.

"It was one thing when private dollars were building it," Sen. John Curtis, R-Utah, told Fox News Digital before a closed-door briefing with Secret Service Director Sean Curran. "If you’re asking me for a billion dollars, I have some really hard questions."

Curtis added that if an employee brought him a billion-dollar project with little explanation, he would respond: "You made that number up."