Senate Republicans Want $1,000,000,000 For White House Ballroom Security Project

Senate Republicans have proposed giving the U.S. Secret Service up to $1 billion for “security adjustments and upgrades” relating to President Donald Trump’s White House ballroom project.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley released the text of a reconciliation bill late Monday which notes the proposed $1 billion in funding would be used for “enhancements” by the Secret Service related to “the East Wing Modernization Project,” which includes “above-ground and below-ground security elements.” This amount is on top of the nearly $3.3 billion the Secret Service had already been allocated under the fiscal 2026 Department of Homeland Security funding bill signed into law on Thursday, Politico reported. (RELATED: Trump Pulls Ambitious White House Ballroom Project Back Into National Spotlight Following Third Assassination Attempt)

However, none of the funds made available can be used for “non-security elements” of the White House ballroom project, according to the reconciliation bill.

“The White House applauds Congress’s latest proposal in its reconciliation package which includes additional funding for security infrastructure upgrades in relation to the long overdue East Wing Modernization Project,” White House Spokesman Davis Ingle told the Daily Caller News Foundation in a Tuesday statement. “Congress has rightly recognized the need for these funds.”

“Due in part to the recent assassination attempt on President Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, the proposal would provide the United States Secret Service with the resources they need to fully and completely harden the White House complex, in addition to the many other critical missions for the USSS,” Ingle continued. “As President Trump has repeatedly said, the White House must be a safe and secure complex that generations of future presidents and visitors to the People’s House can enjoy.”

Grassley’s office did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.

Clare Slattery, a spokesperson for Grassley, told Politico on Tuesday that the legislation “does not fund ballroom construction” but “provides funds for Secret Service enhancements that will ensure all presidents, their families and their staffs are adequately protected.”

The bill’s release comes after Trump was targeted for assassination at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner on April 25. Additionally, the Secret Service said that agents shot a man near the White House complex on Monday after he allegedly opened fire when confronted by authorities.

Democratic Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley, who serves as the ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee, claimed in a Monday statement that “at a time when gas prices are rising every day due to Trump’s war of choice with Iran and families continue to struggle to buy groceries, Republicans are ignoring the needs of middle-class America and instead funneling money into Trump’s ballroom and throwing billions at two lawless agencies.”

“Just flagging that now everyone gets an up or down vote on the ballroom,” Democratic Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz wrote in a Monday X post.

Just flagging that now everyone gets an up or down vote on the ballroom! https://t.co/KevI1zwJNy

— Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) May 5, 2026

Trump notably stated in late March that his planned White House ballroom will serve as a “shed” for a “massive military complex” being constructed underneath. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed in October 2025 that the ballroom project is “not going to cost taxpayers a dime,” KATV ABC 7 reported.

The White House said in a July 2025 statement Trump and “other patriot donors” have “generously committed to donating the funds necessary to build this approximately $200 million dollar structure,” adding that the USSS must “provide the necessary security enhancements and modifications” for the project. The ballroom project is now estimated to cost roughly $400 million, WHAS 11 reported in April.

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