President Donald Trump shows the floor plan of the new White House ballroom on Oct. 22, 2025. The Senate's parliamentarian ruled over the weekend that funding for the ballroom would have to be approved by a filibuster-proof 60-vote margin. File Photo by Aaron Schwartz/UPI | License Photo
May 17 (UPI) -- The Senate parliamentarian has ruled a provision earmarking $1 billion for President Donald Trump's planned White House ballroom cannot be approved without obtaining a 60-vote margin in the body, Democrats announced.
Minority Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Committee said late Saturday Senate parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough has sustained their argument that funding for the ballroom -- tucked within a larger funding bill for immigration enforcement -- violates the Senate's "Byrd Rule."
In a blow to Trump's long-running efforts to construct a White House ballroom over the objections of his opponents, the parliamentarian's ruling means that if the $1 billion were to be included within the immigration bill, it would no longer qualify as a "budget reconciliation" measure eligible for approval with a simple majority vote.
Rather, because the ballroom matter has been deemed a non-budgetary policy change, the bill would require a filibuster-proof 60-vote majority in the Senate, thus enabling Democrats to block it.
