Senate Republicans Advance $1 Billion Secret Service Funding Bill

Senate Republicans said they will proceed with a plan to provide the Secret Service up to $1 billion for security upgrades connected to a White House ballroom project, citing the need to protect the president following an assassination attempt last month.

The proposal would use taxpayer dollars for the East Wing project even though the president had previously stated it would be funded solely through private donations. Republican senators returning to Washington faced questions about the plan on Monday as they seek to attach the funding to a partisan spending bill.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said the total reflects the cost of protecting the president in a dangerous time. He added that keeping the leader of the free world safe is an expensive proposition and that the Secret Service needs the tools to do its job.

Democrats pledged to fight the proposal and attempt to remove the security funding from the legislation. The bill would also restore funding for immigration enforcement agencies that Democrats have blocked since February. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer stated in a letter to colleagues that Democrats will push to strip the security money.

He noted the president had said months earlier that not one penny of taxpayer money would be used for the ballroom. "Well, give me a break. He’s put a billion dollars in the budget for it. This staggering waste of taxpayer dollars has nothing, nothing to do with security and everything to do with Trump’s ego," Schumer said.

>"Keeping the leader of the free world safe is an expensive proposition. com) Some Republican senators expressed reservations and said they want more details before supporting the funding. Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Susan Collins said she wants clarification from the Secret Service Director on how the money would be used and reiterated that the ballroom should be paid for with private donations as the president had indicated.

Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Rand Paul said his preference remains private funding for the project. He noted that Congress had already increased the Secret Service budget after the assassination attempt during the 2024 campaign and questioned whether additional money is needed now.

"That's still my preference," he said, adding that a lot of people think this might be papering over for the ballroom. One senator from Missouri said he had no problem with the funding while a senator from Wyoming said private money would cover construction but taxpayers have a role in the security portion.

House Republicans also raised questions about the Senate plan. The House has not yet released its own bill and some members said they would examine the proposal carefully to ensure it serves the national interest. The Senate bill designates the money for the Secret Service for security adjustments and upgrades related to the ballroom project.

It specifies the funds may support above-ground and below-ground security features but may not be used for non-security elements. The White House has said in court documents that the project would be heavily fortified, including bomb shelters, military installations and a medical facility underneath the ballroom.

The president has said it should include bulletproof glass and be able to repel drone attacks. The president said Friday that the money would be for many projects and not all of it would be for the ballroom. He stated that certain military aspects have nothing to do with the safety of the president but involve other things.

It remains unclear whether the security funding has enough Republican support to advance. Democrats plan to ask the Senate parliamentarian to strike the provision and will offer amendments forcing votes on it if it remains when voting begins next week.

Background on the Project The president has said the construction would cost around $400 million but the White House had not previously proposed a specific number for security costs. The funding request comes after a man was charged with trying to assassinate the president last month.

Lawmakers in both parties sought more detail on how the money would be spent. The legislation ties the security upgrades explicitly to the ballroom while prohibiting use for construction elements unrelated to protection.

Republicans are using a partisan budget maneuver to push the spending legislation through Congress without Democratic votes. The package would restore funding for immigration enforcement agencies blocked by Democrats since February. Democrats are attempting to stoke public opposition to the ballroom security funding as they target the broader immigration crackdown legislation that includes nearly $72 billion.