politics
Democrat Proposes Redirecting $1 Billion From White House Renovation to Law Enforcement Programs
A Democratic senator will propose stripping $1 billion in White House security funding intended for a ballroom and East Wing renovation from a Republican immigration enforcement package. The amendments would redirect the money to programs that support local police hiring, death benefits for fallen officers, and criminal justice grants.
May 12, 2:40 PM·2m read1 source
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A Democratic senator is proposing to remove $1 billion in White House security funding designated for President Donald Trump’s ballroom and East Wing renovation from Republicans’ immigration enforcement funding package. The proposal would redirect that money to law enforcement programs, according to details first shared with Semafor.
The Nevada Democrat is introducing two amendments. One would allocate the $1 billion to fund two years of the COPS hiring program, which awards grants for hiring local law enforcement, as well as two years of funding for the Public Safety Officers’ Death Benefits program, which pays death benefits for fallen officers.
The other amendment would fund one year of the Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance grant program for criminal justice initiatives. “The American people are suffering. These are taxpayer dollars, we do not need a billion-dollar ballroom,” the senator told Semafor on Tuesday.
Enough Republicans remain noncommittal on the $1 billion in funding to put the provision at risk in both chambers of Congress. One vulnerable incumbent Republican senator said he needed to learn more about the money and had been asked about the ballroom a dozen times on Tuesday by reporters.
Republicans can only lose three votes in the Senate to pass the bill.
Some Republicans also believe the Senate parliamentarian might strike down the provision as outside the bounds of budget reconciliation’s strict parliamentary rules. Such a ruling would remove the amendment from consideration. The senator said the caucus is beginning to discuss its tactics, which could include multiple amendments related to the ballroom funding.
