New clash erupts over Trump's White House ballroom plan
White House (photo: Getty Images)
The US Senate has temporarily blocked a Republican plan to allocate federal funds for the construction of President Donald Trump's new ballroom, Bloomberg reports.
The media says the White House and Republicans wanted to include about $1 billion for security upgrades and the construction of a new East Wing linked to the ballroom project in a sweeping budget bill that also covers immigration and security issues.
Democrats said Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough concluded that the project funding does not comply with Senate budget rules.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said his party had managed to block Republicans' first attempt to push through the funding.
"Republicans tried to make taxpayers foot the bill for Trump's billion-dollar ballroom. Senate Democrats fought back — and blew up their first attempt," Schumer said.
Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley also criticized the project, calling it a "boondoggle."
Republicans refuse to back down
Despite the procedural setbacks, Republicans have already said they will try to rewrite the bill and resubmit it to the Senate.
Ryan Wrasse, a spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader John Thune, said such a process is common under Senate budget procedures.
"Redraft. Refine. Resubmit. None of this is abnormal during a Byrd process," he stressed.
Democrats, meanwhile, said they would continue fighting against the project.
Trump's ballroom
This is a large-scale $400 million project that envisions building a new complex on the site of the demolished East Wing of the White House. Under the plan, the new hall would cover nearly 90,000 square feet.
On April 12, a US appeals court ruled that construction of the new White House ballroom could continue — but only until April 17.
A few days later, a federal appeals court allowed Trump to continue construction. The ruling came after a lower court partially blocked the project following a lawsuit filed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Trump insists that the new ballroom is a necessary addition to the White House complex and says it will be financed primarily through private donations. Critics of the project, however, accuse the president of overstepping his authority and using taxpayer funds to support construction and security costs.
