Republicans seek $1 billion to boost security for Trump's ballroom

WASHINGTON ‒ From the beginning of his push for a new White House ballroom, President Donald Trump has insisted no public money will be used on the massive project.

"No governor dollars," Trump said on July 31, 2025, after announcing plans for a 90,000-square-foot ballroom on the East Wing he estimates will cost $400 million, twice the amount projected.

But now, Republicans in Congress are seeking $1 billion in Secret Service security enhancements as part of the East Wing overhaul, setting up a showdown with Democrats over Trump's ballroom and his commitment to rely on only private money.

Republicans, led by Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, inserted the $1 billion appropriation in an immigration enforcement security bill that they are hoping to pass along party lines through reconciliation. The legislation states the money would be used for "security adjustments and upgrades, including within the perimeter 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."

The bill says none of the funds can be used on "non-security elements" of the project, a reference to the ballroom itself, including its construction.

"The bill funds Secret Service enhancements, not ballroom construction," the Republican-led Senate Judiciary Committee said in a post on X.

The White House said Trump still plans to pay for the ballroom with money raised by private donors. White House spokesman Davis Ingle pointed to the April 25 shooting at the White House Correspondents Dinner, in which prosecutors say a 31-year-old gunman attempted to assassinate Trump, to defend the budget request.

"Due in part to the recent assassination attempt on President Trump at the White House Correspondents’ 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," Ingle said.

"As President Trump has repeatedly said, the White House must be a safe and secure complex that generations of future presidents and visitors to the People’s house can enjoy," he added.

But Democrats seized on the security request. "Republicans are on a different planet than American families," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a post on X. "Republicans looked at families drowning in bills and decided what they really needed was more raids and a Trump ballroom."

Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee, said, "At a time when gas prices are rising every day due to Trump’s war of choice with Iran and families continue to struggle to buy groceries, Republicans are ignoring the needs of middle-class America and instead funneling money into Trump’s ballroom."

The larger reconciliation bill also includes $30.7 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, nearly $3.5 billion to Customs and Border Protection, $2.5 billion for the Department of Homeland Security and $1.5 billion for other security efforts.

'Massive complex' to be built below ballroom

Trump's ballroom, which started with the unannounced demolition of the East Wing in October, won approval in April from the National Capital Planning Commission. But the project faces a challenge in court from historic preservationists who have decried the ballroom's size and argued congressional approval is needed.

Trump told reporters on March 29 that the U.S. military is building a "massive complex" underneath the ballroom. He characterized it as a separate undertaking from the construction of the ballroom.

"There's not one dime of government money going into the ballroom," Trump said aboard Air Force One. "Now, the military is building a big complex under the ballroom."

Above-ground construction has been blocked by one federal judge, then unblocked by a federal appeals court while it considers the case. Amid the legal uncertainty, construction on the ballroom continues, with two cranes recently deployed to the White House.

Trump has argued the ballroom is desperately needed to hold large events that currently have to be confined to the White House East Room or outdoors on the South Lawn. Following the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, Trump and White House officials made the case the ballroom is needed for the president's safety to hold large events.

In an April 28 court filing, the Department of Justice cited the correspondents' dinner in asking U.S. District Judge Richard Leon to dissolve the injunction. Oral arguments in the case are set to begin on June 5.

Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.