Trumps White House ballroom funding in jeopardy after Senate ruling, Democrats say
A US Senate official on Saturday removed security funding that could be used for President Trump’s planned White House ballroom from a massive spending package, Democratic lawmakers said, imperiling Republican efforts to devote taxpayer money to the contentious project.The decision by the Senate’s parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough, deals a blow to Trump and his administration, which has sought the money for security purposes related to the ballroom.Trump has said the construction of the ballroom would be funded by $400 million in private donations.But Senate Republicans are seeking $1 billion in taxpayer funding to the Secret Service for security upgrades to the ballroom and other structures being built beneath it.Democrats have criticized the ballroom as an expensive and frivolous diversion by Trump at a time when Americans face rising costs such as higher fuel prices.
Trump, a real estate developer-turned-politician, has written on social media that it will be “the finest Building of its kind anywhere in the World.”MacDonough ruled that the security funding provision falls under chamber rules that require 60 votes to pass most legislation, according to the office of Senator Jeff Merkley, the top Democrat on the Senate Budget Committee.Republicans hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate.The parliamentarian interprets Senate rules, including whether legislative provisions are permitted.Republican senators still could revise the legislation to try to gain the parliamentarian’s approval.“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.Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s office did not immediately return a request for comment.If Republicans do not succeed, they may be unable to include the ballroom-related funding in a $72 billion spending package they plan to bring to a vote on the Senate floor, with passage expe...