Breakdown of $1 billion request for Trump's White House ballroom project
GOP Sen. Jim Justice called the $1 billion price tag "enormous."
ABC News has obtained a one-page breakdown of how the White House says it intends to spend the $1 billion that some Republicans want to approve for President Donald Trump's East Wing renovation to the White House, which includes the construction of Trump's massive ballroom.
The document -- which was provided without elaboration -- was presented by U.S. Secret Service Director Sean Curran to Senate Republicans during a luncheon on Tuesday.
The price breakdown for each target area of the project area is:
- $220 million for White House hardening
- $180 million for White House visitor security screening facility
- $175 million for Secret Service training
- $175 million for enhancements for Secret Service protectees
- $150 million for evolving threats and technology
- $100 million for events of national significance
Axios was first to report the news.
While the White House has insisted the funding is necessary in the wake of the assassination attempt against Trump at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner, Senate Republicans still appeared skeptical of the $1 billion request following Curran's briefing.
"He gave us a list that breaks down the spending in a little more detail, but ... there are still a lot of questions," said Republican Sen. John Kennedy. "It's not the only concern, but one of the biggest concerns on our side is adding to the deficit."
Republican Sen. Jim Justice -- typically a staunch Trump ally -- told ABC News Capitol Hill Correspondent Jay O'Brien that cost for the project was "enormous."
"I can't imagine spending a billion dollars, you know, on security, but I'm not a security expert," Justice said.
Justice said that while he supports building the ballroom and even using government funds on security, he wants administration officials to better explain exactly how the proposed $1 billion would be used.
"I'd like to at least see what that really is. You know, what are we doing for a billion dollars, because you've got a lot of people today that are really hurting and really and truly at the end of the day ... we don't need to spend one extra dollar,” he added.
While Senate Majority Leader John Thune remains adamant that the funding request could be tucked into the ongoing reconciliation process, it faces an uphill battle earning 50 Republican votes.
It's also not clear whether the provision will make it through the Senate's rigorous review process. Democrats are expected to argue before the Senate's parliamentarian that the spending is extraneous and therefore should not be allowed to be included in a reconciliation bill.
Since news of Republicans' intention to include funding for the ballroom became public last week, Democrats have repeatedly hammered the proposal. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer criticized the administration for focusing on the ballroom instead of lowering consumer costs during a speech on the Senate floor on Wednesday morning.
"At a time when 77% -- that's 77% -- of Americans say that Donald Trump's policies have increased their cost of living, Trump and the Senate GOP try to force through a bill that would spend a billion taxpayer dollars on a gilded ballroom and not one penny on bringing down costs," Schumer said, referencing a CNN poll out earlier this week that found 77% say that Trump’s policies have increased the cost of living in their own community.
"Trump may be trying to build a ballroom but clearly he is living in the theater of the absurd," Schumer added.
The $1 billion request is in addition to the annual USSS budget, $3.2 billion in FY 2025.
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