Senate Republicans have formally removed funding for President Donald Trump’s ballroom security as part of their sprawling immigration funding package, according to revised legislative text released Wednesday.
The decision to drop the ballroom funding, which had sparked significant debate among lawmakers, is not a complete surprise. Senate GOP leaders had already acknowledged that the language would have derailed the entire immigration package, both politically and procedurally, after the chamber’s official rule-keeper determined that it violated the highly specific budgetary rules of the legislation. If the language remained in, Democrats would have been able to filibuster the bill — preventing the White House from receiving $70 billion for ICE and border patrol.
There were also political concerns from some GOP senators, who were worried that funding the ballroom as Americans wrestle with cost-of-living issues ahead of the midterms would portray them as out-of-touch.
The Senate GOP’s initial text included nearly $1 billion for “security adjustments and upgrades” to the White House ballroom project, as well as other pots of security money after the assassination attempt against Trump this spring. Administration officials had sought to clarify that only about $200 million would go toward the East Wing project, with the rest going toward other security efforts.
