Trump’s White House ballroom plan hit after Senate blocks $1B security funding

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump's planned White House ballroom project suffered a setback after Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough removed security funding tied to the proposal from a major spending package, dealing a blow to Republican efforts to secure taxpayer-backed money for the controversial expansion.

The ruling threatens a key part of Republican negotiations around the $72 billion package focused largely on immigration enforcement. Democrats quickly framed the decision as a rebuke to what they described as misplaced spending tied to Trump’s vision for a lavish White House ballroom during a period of elevated living costs.

Democrats slam $1B Trump ballroom security funding

According to a source, Trump said the ballroom itself would be funded through “$400 million in private donations,” while Senate Republicans sought roughly “$1 billion in taxpayer funding to the Secret Service for security upgrades to the ballroom and other structures being built beneath it.”

MacDonough ruled that the security funding provision falls under Senate rules requiring 60 votes for passage, according to the office of Sen Jeff Merkley, the top Democrat on the Senate Budget Committee. Republicans currently hold a 53-47 Senate majority.

“While we expect Republicans to change this bill to appease Trump, Democrats are prepared to challenge any change to this bill,” Merkley said in a statement.

Democrats repeatedly criticized the proposal as politically tone-deaf while many Americans continue facing higher costs. Critics described the ballroom as “an expensive and frivolous diversion” as fuel prices and household expenses remain elevated.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer intensified that argument earlier this week, saying, “At a time when 77% -- that's 77% -- of Americans say that Donald Trump's policies have increased their cost of living, Trump and the Senate GOP try to force through a bill that would spend a billion taxpayer dollars on a gilded ballroom and not one penny on bringing down costs.”

“Trump may be trying to build a ballroom but clearly he is living in the theater of the absurd,” Schumer added.

Republicans defend White House ballroom security spending

Republicans and the White House argued the funding was tied to presidential security rather than luxury construction. The report stated that GOP lawmakers cited an April incident in which an alleged gunman stormed a media gala in Washington attended by Trump.

Background material obtained by ABC News showed the administration presented Senate Republicans with a breakdown of the proposed spending, including “$220 million for White House hardening” and “$180 million for White House visitor security screening facility.”

Still, some Republicans expressed concerns over the size of the request after Secret Service Director Sean Curran briefed senators.

“He gave us a list that breaks down the spending in a little more detail, but ... there are still a lot of questions,” Republican Sen John Kennedy said.

Republican Sen Jim Justice also called the price tag “enormous,” adding, “I can't imagine spending a billion dollars, you know, on security, but I'm not a security expert."

Senate ruling throws Trump ballroom funding into doubt

The decision leaves Republicans scrambling to determine whether revised language could survive Senate procedural rules before the broader spending package heads to the Senate floor.

Trump, meanwhile, continued publicly promoting the project, writing on social media that the ballroom would be “the finest Building of its kind anywhere in the World."