Administration Transfers $397 Million to Secret Service Accounts

The Trump administration transferred $397 million in taxpayer funds to Secret Service accounts on June 12 and June 15. The transfers came from a $1.2 billion allocation approved last year in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

The Office of Management and Budget posted the transfers online. Nearly $11 million went into the Secret Service's Operations and Support account, while more than $385 million was placed in the Procurement, Construction and Improvements account. Documents describe the funds only as intended for White House Security Measures.

The legislative text authorizing the original $1.2 billion did not reference improvements at the White House.

Democratic senators told Bloomberg Government and NOTUS they were concerned the funds could be used for the ballroom project. A senior administration official said the money will support necessary security upgrades, including a new visitors screening center and other campus hardening measures. The official added that the ballroom will be paid for with private donations secured by the President.

The Washington Post reported this week that the contractor building the ballroom estimated in March the total cost would exceed $600 million. The same report said more than half the funding was expected to come from government entities funded by taxpayers.

Earlier this year, the administration sought more than $1 billion additional for the Secret Service in a reconciliation bill. Officials said $220 million of that request would support the East Wing Modernization Project, but the funding was not included in the final bill.

A Justice Department official wrote this week in a letter to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals that the ballroom's mass and height would shield the White House grounds from attack while providing a new Drone Port and Sniper Nests. The Department of Homeland Security referred questions about the transfers to the Office of Management and Budget.