President Donald Trump’s costly White House ballroom continues to stir outrage after a newly released proposal confirmed that Senate Republicans are seeking $1 billion from taxpayers for the project — despite prior claims that construction would be privately funded.The reconciliation package that Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released on Monday focuses on federal law enforcement, border security and the ballroom — which the White House said last year would cost $200 million to build.Critics on social media blasted the project’s inflating cost.“The ballroom went from $200 million & privately funded, to $300 million, to $400 million and taxpayers cover some of it, to MAGA trying to silently jam through $1 BILLION, 100% of which is our tax money, for this ballroom,” wrote one X user. “WASTE, FRAUD, AND ABUSE.”President Donald Trump said the military is building a "massive complex" beneath the ballroom.AP Photo/Mark SchiefelbeinTrump announced plans for the ballroom in July and has repeatedly said that its construction would be funded by private donations. A federal judge recently ruled that the effort requires congressional approval, however, and officially ordered the Trump administration to suspend the project.Trump and senior MAGA officials have pushed Congress to authorize the project since last month’s shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, arguing that the new ballroom will provide security for high-profile government gatherings.The new proposal calls for $1 billion for “security adjustments and upgrades” related to the ballroom — which it refers to as the East Wing Modernization Project — including “above-ground and below-ground security features.” Trump famously razed the East Wing of the White House last year to make way for his ballroom.While most critics are slamming the ballroom as a “vanity project,” Trump divulged to reporters that the military has been building a massive complex beneath it — admitting it was “supposed to be a secret” that only came out “because of a stupid lawsuit.”Close