US President Donald Trump speaks to the press near the construction site of his proposed ballroom at the White House on May 19, 2026 in Washington, DC.
Kent Nishimura | AFP | getty images
Senate Republicans on Wednesday stripped President Donald Trump’s proposed White House ballroom and $1 billion in security funds for the Secret Service from a revised immigration enforcement bill.
According to multiple media reports, GOP leaders privately concluded that the funding proposal risked politically and procedurally derailing the comprehensive immigration bill.
The provision also raised political concerns among some Senate Republicans, who were worried the funding could make the party seem out of touch as voters struggle with the high costs ahead of the midterm elections in November.
Trump personally pressured lawmakers to authorize funding for the controversial ballroom project and the Secret Service. Trump administration officials argued that the money was necessary in the wake of an alleged assassination attempt against Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner at the Washington Hilton on April 25.
Administration officials have said only $200 million would have gone toward the ballroom while the rest would support other Secret Service upgrades.
Bill updated from Wednesday Senate Judiciary Committee The requested money came after weeks of internal Republican debate over whether to put it into a broader reconciliation package that would send tens of billions of dollars to the two agencies. Immigration and Customs EnforcementAnd Customs and Border Protection.
Republicans are trying to pass the measure through a process called reconciliation, which allows budget-related legislation to pass the Senate with a simple majority instead of 60 votes.
There are only 53 Republican senators, meaning the GOP majority needs some of the 45 Democrats and two independents to join with Democrats to vote for a reconciliation measure if it is to pass.
In May, the Senate parliamentarian ruled that an earlier version of the bill that included funding for ballroom security could not be passed through reconciliation because it did not comply with the so-called Byrd Rule. This rule prohibits provisions of bills that are deemed inconsistent with federal spending or outside the jurisdiction of the committees drafting them.
If the ballroom provision had remained in the bill, Democrats would have challenged it and forced Republicans to meet the higher threshold.
The White House on Wednesday rejected the idea that Republicans affirmatively decided to remove the provision, arguing that the language was removed because of the parliamentarian’s decision.
“The parliamentarian was informed of her decision weeks ago,” a White House spokesperson said. “This framing is wrong because it implies that Republicans removed it deliberately rather than under parliamentary pressure.”
However, after the parliamentarian’s decision last month, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said the bill will be redrafted Incorporating funding and complying with the Byrd Rule.
“We’ll try a new approach,” Thune said at the time.
Last year, it took five attempts to get the MP’s approval on a tax-and-spending bill, he said.
“You just continue to figure out how do we address the concerns raised there, and what’s the way to do that?” Thune said.