Trump’s Ballroom on Life Support After Republicans in Congress Begin To Push Back

President Trump’s stated desire for an 89,000-square-foot ballroom may end up not being enough to convince Republicans in Congress. The event space, which was previously supposed to be funded by private donations, now appears unlikely to receive the necessary backing of GOP lawmakers in the House and Senate. Mr. Trump has been touting the ballroom as a national security necessity since he began tearing down the East Wing last year. His focus on construction intensified after a would-be assassin tried to shoot him at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner last month. “This event would never have happened with the Militarily Top Secret Ballroom currently under construction at the White House,” he wrote on Truth Social the morning after the shooting. In the days that followed, Republicans began kicking around ideas about how to fund the project. Senator Lindsey Graham introduced a two-page bill to send $400 million to the president for construction. As part of the ongoing immigration enforcement funding bill negotiations in the Senate, lawmakers introduced a provision giving the Secret Service $1 billion for new security measures at the White House — including more than $200 million for the ballroom itself. On Wednesday, however, it became clear that Republicans have cooled to the idea. “We’re still working through the final provisions of what it will look like,” the majority leader, Senator John Thune, said when asked about the ballroom. He made the comment shortly after emerging from a lunch held for the GOP conference. Senator John Kennedy told reporters before Mr. Thune came out of the room that he believed that the ballroom provision had been taken out of the bill. “There are a couple of snags — snafus, if you will — that we’ve run into,” Mr. Thune said. “I think there are issues” around the ballroom for his colleagues, he added. Senator John Hoeven confirmed that there are a number of issues plaguing the bill as of Wednesday afternoon. He compared figuring out the final text of the bill to solving a Rubik’s Cube. “The point is, when we proceed — when we start — we have to carry every vote or else we lose [floor] privilege,” Mr. Hoeven told reporters after the lunch. “It’s no one issue. It depends on which member you ask. That’s kind of why it’s kind of like a Rubik’s Cube.”When asked by the New York Sun if he had any updates on submitting the legislative language on the ballroom funding effort, Mr. Graham — the Budget Committee chairman — answered swiftly. “No,” he said.Democrats were more than happy to have the political fight over the ballroom at a time when the president’s economic approval rating has never been lower. According to a Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday, Mr. Trump’s disapproval rating on the economy climbed to 64 percent. The poll showed nearly one in four — 24 percent — of Republican voters disapproving of his economic stewardship. Senator Jacky Rosen, a Democrat from Nevada, has said she will introduce two amendments to the bill if the ballroom funding remains in the package. Her amendments, if adopted, would direct the $1 billion security provision to state and local law enforcement agencies. The Senate Budget Committee advanced part of the $70 billion immigration enforcement bill on Wednesday morning as a sort of procedural measure to bring the larger package to the floor. The actual Secret Service security and ballroom funding was not included in the bill advanced by the committee on Wednesday, though it was expected to be added to the final product once it hits the floor. Democrats aren’t just going after the ballroom funding, but the president’s $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” compensation fund, as well. Even one Republican, Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick, told MeidasTouch that he plans to try to kill the fund, which is controlled by acting attorney general Todd Blanche. “He can’t do that,” Mr. Fitzpatrick said of the compensation measure announced by Mr. Blanche. At the Budget Committee hearing Wednesday morning, Senator Chris Van Hollen — a Democrat who is widely seen as a future progressive challenger to Senator Chuck Schumer for the leader post — said he plans to introduce his own amendment to disband the $1.8 billion fund. “You may have some support,” Mr. Graham told Mr. Van Hollen with a laugh. Correction: The Secret Service is the organization being considered for a $1 billion proposal in Congress. An earlier version misstated the name of the agency.

Trump’s Ballroom on Life Support After Republicans in Congress Begin To Push Back

Trump’s Ballroom on Life Support After Republicans in Congress Begin To Push Back

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