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Senate GOP SCRAMBLES as Trump SNEAKS in BALLROOM FUNDING
Posted
May 15, 2026
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May 15, 2026
16,332
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18.63%
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10:03Now PlayingAttorneys Brian Kabateck and Shant Karnikian break down the latest chapter in the White House ballroom saga. Senate Republicans tucked $1 billion in taxpayer funding into a $72 billion immigration enforcement reconciliation bill for "security adjustments and upgrades" related to the "East Wing Modernization Project." The word "ballroom" appears nowhere in the text. The money goes to the Secret Service for "above-ground and below-ground security elements" tied to the construction site where the historic East Wing used to stand before Trump demolished it without permits. A federal judge already ruled the project required congressional approval, and Trump originally promised it would cost zero taxpayer dollars. The ballroom was supposed to be funded entirely by private donations from wealthy friends. Now those $400 million in private donations will reportedly go toward "extras such as china," while taxpayers foot the billion-dollar bill for the actual structure. Sen. Elizabeth Warren called it a project that "has gone from costing $200 million funded by shady donors to $1 BILLION from TAXPAYERS, snuck into the ICE bill." Because the funding is in a reconciliation package, it needs only a simple majority and cannot be filibustered. Even some Republicans are uncomfortable: Sen. Rick Scott said he wants it paid for privately, as Trump pledged. Brian asks the obvious question: the man who promised to cut government spending is now billing taxpayers a billion dollars for a ballroom while Americans pay $7 a gallon for gas.
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