Senate GOP Wants $1,000,000,000 For White House Fence, Ballroom Bunker

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 Grassleyreleased 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.

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.”

The bill “does not fund ballroom construction” but “provides funds for Secret Service enhancements, including, but not limited to security enhancements related to the East Wing Modernization Project,” a Senate Judiciary Committee spokesperson told the DCNF in a statement, also claiming the funding “will ensure all presidents, their families and their staffs are adequately protected.”

“The United States Secret Service is responsible for securing the White House compound, as well as deciding how the compound must be secured given the current threat environment,” the spokesperson added. “After three attempted assassinations against the current president, it’s clearer than ever that investing in Secret Service is essential.”

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.

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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