{"id":209859,"date":"2026-05-06T00:56:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-06T00:56:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/republicans-propose-1-billion-in-taxpayer-dollars-to-secure-trump-ballroom-nbc-news\/"},"modified":"2026-05-06T00:56:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T00:56:13","slug":"republicans-propose-1-billion-in-taxpayer-dollars-to-secure-trump-ballroom-nbc-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/republicans-propose-1-billion-in-taxpayer-dollars-to-secure-trump-ballroom-nbc-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Republicans propose $1 billion in taxpayer dollars to secure Trump ballroom – NBC News"},"content":{"rendered":"

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WASHINGTON \u2014 For months, President Donald Trump portrayed the big new ballroom that he\u2019s building on White House grounds as a gift to the nation, courtesy of patriotic private donors.
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\u201cAnd by the way, no government funds,\u201d Trump told reporters in the Oval Office last November.
\u201cThese are all private individuals that put up a lot of money to build the ballroom,\u201d he added. “Not one penny is being used from the federal government.”
But the gleaming 90,000-square-foot space that he repeatedly said would cost the public nothing may ultimately leave taxpayers on the hook for $1 billion, due to new security enhancements that are tied to the project.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, has released a long-term immigration and border patrol funding bill that includes $1 billion earmarked for security improvements accompanying the overall ballroom project.
The legislation states<\/a> that the money is earmarked \u201cfor the purposes of security adjustments and upgrades, including within the perimeter fence of the White House Compound to support enhancements by the United States Secret Service relating to the East Wing Modernization Project, including above-ground and below-ground security features.\u201d
The language is part of a Republican-only “reconciliation” bill the party plans to pass this year<\/a>. The overall package is a major priority for GOP leadership, as well as the president. Still, some Republicans expressed skepticism<\/a> about taxpayers contributing to the ballroom just last week.
In a prepared statement, a White House spokesperson praised the Republican-led spending proposal.
\u201cCongress has rightly recognized the need for these funds,” <\/strong>said spokesperson Davis Ingle. “Due in part to the recent assassination attempt on President Trump at the White House Correspondents\u2019 Dinner, the proposal would provide the United States Secret Service with the resources they need to fully and completely harden the White House complex, in addition to the many other critical missions for the USSS.”
Senate Democrats hope to derail the $1 billion proposal. They plan to force a vote to try to strip the provision out of the bill when it comes to the Senate floor later this month.
\u201cJust flagging that now everyone gets an up or down vote on the ballroom!\u201d Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, said in a post on X.
When he first laid out plans for the ballroom last year, Trump emphasized that <\/strong>it would fulfill a need for large-scale parties at the White House at no cost to the public. Foreign leaders shouldn\u2019t be shuttled out to the White House South Lawn for state dinners held beneath makeshift tents, Trump argued.
<\/strong>\u201cThis is a GIFT (ZERO taxpayer funding!) to the United States of America, of 300 to 400 Million Dollars (depending on the scope and quality of interior finishes!), for a desperately needed space,” Trump wrote<\/a> on his social media site in January.
He demolished the White House\u2019s East Wing to make room for the ballroom and raised millions of dollars in corporate contributions<\/a> to pay for it. (Comcast Corp., the parent company of NBCUniversal, is one of the donors.)
As construction proceeded and legal challenges arose, the White House began to emphasize another rationale for the ballroom: safety.
In a court filing last month, the Trump administration wrote that the structure is “vital” for the president and White House’s security and will be built with materials that can withstand drone attacks.<\/a>
More than a ballroom, the project also includes underground medical facilities and a bomb shelter, the administration\u2019s filings showed.
After a gunman last month stormed into the White House Correspondents\u2019 Association dinner, where Trump was seated at the dais in a bustling Washington, D.C., hotel, the White House renewed its argument<\/a> that the ballroom is needed to ensure the president\u2019s safety.
Opponents say that the new funding proposal suggests that Americans were misled when Trump told them the ballroom would cost them nothing.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., told NBC News: \u201cThis has been a bait and switch: promising it would be privately funded and now, apparently, taxpayers will be on the hook for it.\u201d
Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., said in an interview: \u201cThis is tragically another example of President Trump promising one thing and doing another \u2014 of saying he was going to do something great for the American people and instead demolishing the historic East Wing without any serious consultation or public input. And now we discover the total cost is going to be well more than $1 billion.\u201d
\u201cAnd I\u2019ve had no briefing that gives me any insight into what could possibly cost $1 billion extra dollars,” Coons added.
Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., defended the project, referencing assassination attempts against Trump. \u201cI guess as long as liberals insist on shooting presidents, it will take a lot of resources to protect presidents,” he said. “I\u2019m fine with it.\u201d
The ballroom project faces legal challenges <\/a>that threaten its continuation. One argument that plaintiffs have made is that Trump acted without congressional approval.
Next month, a federal appeals court will hear oral arguments on a challenge to U.S. District Judge Richard Leon\u2019s order blocking the Trump administration from moving forward with construction without congressional authorization. Until a decision comes down from the appeals court \u2014 which won\u2019t happen until mid-June at the earliest \u2014 construction both above and below ground will continue.
Peter Nicholas is a senior White House reporter for NBC News.
Frank Thorp V is a producer and off-air reporter covering Congress for NBC News, managing coverage of the Senate.
Gary Grumbach is an NBC News legal affairs reporter, based in Washington, D.C.
© 2026 NBCUniversal Media, LLC<\/p>\n

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