WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump’s top aides are pushing Congress to fund an expensive White House ballroom, days after the president was evacuated Saturday from a dinner in a sprawling hotel ballroom where a gunman breached a security checkpoint.
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But Republicans are divided over whether taxpayers should foot the bill, with some preferring to let Trump privately raise money to build the 90,000-square-foot ballroom. And Democrats are strongly opposed, meaning it will be a heavy burden for Republicans to pass the bill.
On Monday, a trio of Republican senators — Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Katie Britt of Alabama and Eric Schmidt of Missouri — announced legislation to provide $400 million to build a new ballroom on the White House grounds.
“There is a problem in America and we intend to fix it,” Graham told reporters. “This is not about Trump. This is about the presidency of the United States. This is about the person who occupies that office not being put at risk if he wants to walk off campus.”
Graham said the money could be partially recouped from “customs fees” but should not be left to private money. Below, he said, there would be “military stuff” and a “Secret Service contract.”
“Private donations can be used, but I think it should be used to buy china and things like that,” he said.
Other Republicans told NBC News on Monday that the project should be completed with private funding.
“I don’t know why you would do that” if it’s all funded “by taxpayers’ money,” said Trump ally and spendthrift Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla.
“We have a debt of $39 trillion,” he said. “Maybe we should stop spending money.”
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-MO, said there is a legal question about whether Congress would have to vote to allow the White House to conduct major renovations on White House property. But when it comes to funding, he said he prefers private funds rather than public funds.
He said, “I think all donors should be public, but I don’t know why, if you have private donors who want to do that… I prefer that rather than put the taxpayers on the hook.” “But I think that’s a different question as to whether we need to authorize it.”
Senator Rand Paul, R-Ky., said he also was not in favor of using taxpayer money for the new ballroom.
“I’ve always been conservative and he already has money,” Paul said. “And I’m not against reconciling and giving a nominal amount. I’m not in favor of financing the entire $500 million. I think he’s already raised the money through private means.”
Comcast Corp., parent company of NBC News, is one of the corporate donors to Trump’s ballroom.
Asked to respond to fellow Republicans who oppose taxpayer funds, Graham said: “Just don’t vote. I just ask you to vote. I don’t care how you vote. I want the vote. I want to see: Where is America on this? I bet you 90% of people want a better facility than a Hilton hotel to make sure this crap never happens again. … There are people out there who would love to just pick up a gun or something.” “One click away and trying to make America better by murdering.”
“This is not a private charity program – this is a national security program.”
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Prosecutors may face this challenge in the trial of the reporters’ dinner suspect
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Meanwhile, Democrats are overwhelmingly opposed to the project and argue that Trump broke the law by demolishing the East Wing and failing to get approval from Congress before moving forward with the project, which has been the subject of lawsuits. They also say that the use of private money promotes corruption.
That remains the case, even as they condemn what law enforcement has called an assassination attempt on Trump.
“There is no room for political violence in the United States of America. I’m glad the president is safe. I’m glad the Secret Service did its job. It’s also a fact that private events take place outside the White House, and so we can’t have a society where there are no public events and everything happens in a reinforced ballroom,” said Senator Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii. “So will there ever be 60 votes for the ballroom – I haven’t counted yet, but I can’t find any Democrats who say yes.”
One Democrat who has spoken out in favor of building the ballroom since Saturday’s dinner is Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, who is often the first to support his party. He suggested Sunday that opponents of the project have “Trump derangement syndrome.”
“After watching last night, eliminate TDS and build a White House ballroom for events just like this,” Fetterman said on X, without specifying whether it should receive taxpayer money.
It appears highly unlikely that the ballroom legislation will get the 60 votes needed for passage in the Senate.
Some Republicans are discussing whether to put the money into a party-line bill they have begun pushing to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection. Making changes to that bill, which requires only a simple majority to pass, could slow efforts to reopen the Department of Homeland Security amid a record-long shutdown.
Graham, who is leading that process as chairman of the Budget Committee, said his priority is to pass his ballroom bill through the regular process requiring 60 votes in the Senate.
“But if it doesn’t work, I’m in favor of doing it anyway,” he said.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said he did not know whether the ballroom could be funded by reconciliation, adding that the existing budget only applies to other committees. “Only two committees have been instructed, Judiciary and Homeland Security. But, you know, we’ll see what can be accomplished,” he told reporters.
On Monday, the Justice Department charged Cole Thomas Allen, a 31-year-old teacher and engineer from California, with attempting to assassinate Trump at the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.
Armed with a shotgun, handgun and knives, he ran through a security checkpoint at the Washington Hilton and exchanged gunfire with law enforcement officers, authorities said. The criminal complaint released Monday says he was prevented from entering the ballroom where the president, Vice President J.D. Vance, Speaker Mike Johnson and others in the line of succession were attending a dinner.
Authorities said Allen sent a note to family members before the shooting saying he was targeting Trump administration officials, several of whom were in the ballroom.
White House spokeswoman Carolyn Leavitt said Monday, “The White House Ballroom project is not just a fun project for President Trump… It is really critical to our national security that a large, secure building in this complex, which is the most secure complex in the world, is built to accommodate not only a large number of guests, but the President, the Vice President, members of the Cabinet.”
“The line of succession in this country should be able to assemble freely and safely without the fear of threats or political violence,” said Leavitt, seated at the head table with Trump.
Johnson, who can be seen in the video being immediately escorted out by his security squad, told reporters: “They have to reevaluate this. That’s why we need the ballroom… We need a facility that is safe enough to host events like this without major national security concerns.”
However, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y. When asked about it on Monday, he criticized the Ballroom project, saying that the US national security priority should be ending the war with Iran.
“I haven’t seen any specific requests regarding the ballroom. But needless to say, we have to reduce the high cost of living. Life has become more expensive,” Jeffries told reporters, while calling on Congress to focus on other things. “This is not a vanity project that resulted from the destruction – which was unauthorized – of the East Wing of the White House.”
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