President Donald Trump (R) wants Congress to spend $1 billion on security for the East Wing of the White House, where the ballroom is being built.
There’s bipartisan skepticism, including from Connecticut’s federal delegation.
Trump has said the ballroom is needed for state visits and events. He argues the recent shooting at the White House Correspondents' dinner is further proof that a secure space controlled by White House staff is needed.
“This event would never have happened with the Militarily Top Secret Ballroom currently under construction at the White House,” Trump posted after the shooting. “It cannot be built fast enough! While beautiful, it has every highest level security feature there is, plus there are no rooms sitting on top for unsecured people to pour in, and it is inside the gates of the most secure building in the World, The White House.”
The money wouldn’t go to construction, which is being funded by private donors. Congressionally directed spending would be for facility security.
It’s a hard sell to some Republicans who want to please Trump, but see voting to spend a billion dollars on the project while the cost of almost everything is going up for everyday Americans as tone deaf.
Democrats are less conflicted. U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) is a hard no.
“This is Trump asking you to pay for his billionaire parties,” Murphy said. “That's what's going to happen in this ballroom. You're never getting a ticket to a party in the ballroom. Hell, I'm never getting a ticket to a party in the ballroom.”
“The cost of electricity is going up. The cost of your healthcare is going up. The price of a gallon of gasoline is above $6 in some parts of this country,” he continued. “And instead of spending a billion dollars on helping you afford your life, he wants to spend a billion dollars of your money on building his gold-plated ballroom.”
When U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-3) was re-endorsed by the Democratic Party during the convention on Monday, she mentioned the ballroom in her speech.
“Everything costs more, and President Trump has made it worse,” DeLauro said. “He ran on promises that he would bring down costs, keep us out of foreign wars, and not even halfway through his second term, he had broken both promises.... Meanwhile, the President is fixated on a ballroom at the White House. A $1 billion ballroom, it turns out.”
The funding request is part of a $72 billion immigration bill. Republicans in favor want to pass it before June 1.
