Republicans propose $1 billion in taxpayer dollars to secure Trump ballroom
By: Peter Nicholas (NBC News)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
May 5, 2026, 1:29 PM EDT / Updated May 5, 2026, 1:36 PM EDTBy Peter Nicholas, Frank Thorp V and Gary Grumbach
WASHINGTON — For months, President Donald Trump portrayed the big new ballroom that he's building on White House grounds as a gift to the nation, courtesy of patriotic private donors.
"And by the way, no government funds," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office last November.
"These are all private individuals that put up a lot of money to build the ballroom," he added. "Not one penny is being used from the federal government."
But the gleaming 90,000 square-foot space that he repeatedly said would cost the public nothing may ultimately leave taxpayers on the hook for $1 billion, due to new security enhancements that are tied to the project.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, has released a long-term immigration and border patrol funding bill that includes $1 billion earmarked for security improvements accompanying the overall ballroom project.
The legislation states that the money is earmarked "for the purposes of security adjustments and upgrades, including within the perimeter fence of the White House Compound to support enhancements by the United States Secret Service relating to the East Wing Modernization Project, including above-ground and below-ground security features."
The language is part of a Republican-only "reconciliation" bill the party plans to pass this year. The overall package is a major priority for GOP leadership, as well as the president. Still, some Republicans expressed skepticism about taxpayers contributing to the ballroom just last week.
In a prepared statement, a White House spokesperson praised the Republican-led spending proposal.
"Congress has rightly recognized the need for these funds,"said spokesperson Davis Ingle. "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."
Senate Democrats hope to derail the $1 billion proposal. They plan to force a vote to try to strip the provision out of the bill when it comes to the Senate floor later this month.
"Just flagging that now everyone gets an up or down vote on the ballroom!" Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, said in a post on X.
Artist renderings and diagrams of the new White House East Wing and Ballroom, briefly posted on the National Capital Planning Commission's website in February.Jon Elswick / AP
When he first laid out plans for the ballroom last year, Trump emphasized thatit would fulfill a need for large-scale parties at the White House at no cost to the public. Foreign leaders shouldn't be shuttled out to the White House South Lawn for state dinners held beneath makeshift tents, Trump argued.
"This is a GIFT (ZERO taxpayer funding!) to the United States of America, of 300 to 400 Million Dollars (depending on the scope and quality of interior finishes!), for a desperately needed space," Trump wrote on his social media site in January.
He demolished the White House's East Wing to make room for the ballroom and raised millions of dollars in corporate contributions to pay for it. (Comcast Corp., the parent company of NBCUniversal, is one of the donors.)
As construction proceeded and legal challenges arose, the White House began to emphasize another rationale for the ballroom: safety.
In a court filing last month, the Trump administration wrote that the structure is "vital" for the president and White House's security and will be built with materials that can withstand drone attacks.
More than a ballroom, the project also includes underground medical facilities and a bomb shelter, the administration's filings showed.
After a gunman last month stormed into the White House Correspondents' Association dinner, where Trump was seated at the dais in a bustling Washington, D.C., hotel, the White House renewed its argument that the ballroom is needed to ensure the president's safety.
Opponents say that the new funding proposal suggests that Americans were misled when Trump told them the ballroom would cost them nothing.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., told NBC News: "This has been a bait and switch: promising it would be privately funded and now, apparently, taxpayers will be on the hook for it."
Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., said in an interview: "This is tragically another example of President Trump promising one thing and doing another — of saying he was going to do something great for the American people and instead demolishing the historic East Wing without any serious consultation or public input. And now we discover the total cost is going to be well more than $1 billion."
"And I've had no briefing that gives me any insight into what could possibly cost $1 billion extra dollars," Coons added.
Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., defended the project, referencing assassination attempts against Trump. "I guess as long as liberals insist on shooting presidents, it will take a lot of resources to protect presidents," he said. "I'm fine with it."
The ballroom project faces legal challenges that threaten its continuation. One argument that plaintiffs have made is that Trump acted without congressional approval.
Next month, a federal appeals court will hear oral arguments on a challenge to U.S. District Judge Richard Leon's order blocking the Trump administration from moving forward with construction without congressional authorization. Until a decision comes down from the appeals court — which won't happen until mid-June at the earliest — construction both above and below ground will continue.
Tags
Who is online
117 visitors
This is Trump trying to get his hands on taxpayer money to line his own pockets.
Your seed doesn't say that. In fact it states
Unless you have some evidence that the Secret Service is actually in Trump's pocket, your statement is false.
I can also provide comments from another source in case your own seed doesn't cover it sufficiently....
Trump is a crook. period.
Supposedly Trump will be out of office by the time the ballroom is operational. Are we expecting multiple assassination attempts against all future presidents?
When is enough going to be enough for you people ?
You do realize that there will be other Presidents after Trump, don't you? Won't those security upgrades be useful for the next Presidents?
Simple answer, no. Trump is the only one that wants a ballroom (presumably with his name on it).
Except that doesn't address the post you replied to. By your statement, no other President would ever use the ballroom.
Not to ignore the simple fact, that with the ballroom being attached to the White House then any security upgrades would also include the rest of the White House.
It sounds like they hate Trump so much they want every president after him to keep putting up tents and porta potties for state dinners.....because...Truuuuuuuuump.
Yep. Fits in with what some Democrats have said about how the next President should just tear the ballroom down.
With luck the next president will spend his or her time erasing everything Trump did... including the ridiculous ball room.
Let's hope so.
Pure triggered insanity
Won't those security upgrades be useful for the next Presidents?
Generally speaking, Americans don’t hate Presidents, they hate Donald Trump … with a passion … for perfectly reasonable reasons. What a piece of shit.
Morning Frosty..
Going to be an awfully long list.. hope someone is keeping track of it all..
When you have to lie to respond to a claim it really means you have no reply.
I said no other president wants it, I did not say that no other president would use it if it were there.
Actually that's not a true statement. You posted the question asked
And your reply was
You replied with a no. Then you pivoted to only Trump wanting the ballroom. You can play word games all you want, but the truth is right there.
And here's some more truth. Trump was not the only President who wanted a ballroom.
You can have the last word here,[ ✘ ]
Correct, and I stand by that.
No pivot, saying nobody else wants it AND only Trump wants it, is 2 ways of saying the same thing. Simple English.
Name the others and provide links to quotes of them saying so.
In other words: you are tired of me demanding evidence for your claims.
Trump tore down the East Wing. By doing so, he created a problem that must be solved. He cannot solve this problem with private donations. In result, taxpayers now have to foot $1 billion to create a secure infrastructure. And even if a ballroom is not the solution, there will be major security infrastructure costs.
This is yet another one of Trump's playtoys. He does not work for the American people; he abuses his power for self-aggrandizement.
That would be entirely fine with me. In my opinion, the president does not need a ballroom.
Amen hon.
Never. Trump could charge taxpayers a billion dollars to eat a live human baby on TV and these fuckers would cheer.
The thing that always shocks me the most about Trump’s lies is that people believed them in the first place.
Can the taxpayers afford $1B? Short answer? No
Plus we’re already spending that every day in Iran. Not to mention all the added costs of paying the resulting higher fuel prices and replacing all the ordinance we’re using.
Passing over all the left-wing populist hate whining it's another BILLION added to a swelling budget.
Yep. Neither party is interested in being fiscally conservative, they only want to spend money to gain more power. We really need a big housecleaning in Washington.
It's scary to think what could happen to the budget if the overly priced stock market has a major correction later this year. I've read a couple of economists who have talked about the possibility of a 20-30% drop in the market. That's not just a correction, that's bumping right up against a recession.
The only thing propping up the economy today is the robust consumer spending, but it's slowing. If is slows enough Christmas is going to be grim.
Correct.
Would be nice if this outrageous display of self-aggrandizement by Trump energizes the electorate to vote out those who are NOT trying to be fiscally conservative.
Why not $2 billion? What's a mere $1 billion going to do?
First rule of government spending - why build one of anything when you can build two at twice the price.
Wait until we get the final bill for Trump's new United States Triumphal Arch.
There is a $15M public fund allocated for the build with the rest of the $100M proposed cost being paid privately. Again as we're now seeing with the new ballroom, nothing this Admin ever says is quite the truth.
No thanks. I’ll take healthcare, instead.
BREAKING NEWS: Mexico has announced that they will pay for the ballroom.
So now we know that President Trump is going to fill the big, beautiful hole he dug with money. Wouldn't that make the ballroom a money pit?
If Trump needs goldbricks for his palace he can count upon his shiny new Republican Party. There's plenty of goldbricks available there.