President Donald Trump, 79, has hit a new hurdle in his quest to build a $400 million White House ballroom.
A sneaky bid by the president’s Republican allies in the Senate to tie $1 billion in funding for the project and other security measures into an immigration enforcement bill got swatted down by the Senate parliamentarian on Saturday.
The non-partisan rules adviser determined that the bill, as it is currently written, “inappropriately funds activities outside the jurisdiction of the Judiciary Committee.”
“A project as complex and large in scale as Trump’s proposed ballroom necessarily involves the coordination of many government agencies which span the jurisdiction of many Senate committees,” Elizabeth MacDonough, the Senate parliamentarian, said.
The money was part of a Senate Judiciary Committee immigration enforcement bill. The proposed legislation included $1 billion for enhanced security for the “East-Wing modernization project,” which includes the 90,000-square-foot ballroom that critics have dubbed an eyesore.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said the decision was a win for taxpayers struggling to meet the rising cost of living.
“Democrats will keep fighting this every way we can — in the Byrd Bath, on the Senate floor with votes, and anywhere else Republicans try to raid Americans’ hard-earned money for Trump’s gilded palace. The contrast couldn’t be clearer: Democrats fight for American families. Republicans fight for Trump," Schumer said in a statement.
“Americans don’t want a ballroom. They don’t need a ballroom. And they sure as hell should not be forced to pay for one.”
Features of the ballroom funded by the money would include bulletproof glass in the windows, and advanced drone detection measures.
The bill’s main objective was to fund ICE and Customs and Border Protection throughout the remainder of Trump’s second term. It was an attempt to circumvent Democrats, and the possibility of a filibuster, through a legislative tool called reconciliation, which would enable Republicans to approve spending with a simple majority.
Under the Byrd rule, reconciliation must follow strict guidelines, and many parts of the broader bill have been struck out. To overrule Byrd—named for the senator Robert C. Byrd who first proposed it—you must get a 60 vote majority on the Senate floor.
The ruling is yet another blow to Trump, who has repeatedly gushed about his planned new ballroom and had the East Wing demolished to make way for it.
After an attempted assassination at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in April, Republicans quickly jumped on board with Trump’s assertion that his ballroom would prevent future threats.
Obsessed with Trumpifying D.C., the president has already made many changes to the White House, including paving over the Rose Garden, adding gold accents throughout the Oval Office, and creating a wall of presidents that openly mocks previous Democratic office holders.
He has also proposed a massive arch and is repainting the reflecting pool “American flag blue.”
But the ballroom, brought up by Trump at every possible opportunity, is his most ambitious and controversial project. Renderings show it would dwarf the rest of the White House, and work has been hampered by court ordered stoppages.
Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune‘s spokesman played down this latest obstacle in a post on X Saturday night.
“Redraft. Refine. Resubmit. None of this is abnormal during a Byrd process,” he wrote.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
