WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s top allies are pushing for Congress to fund a costly White House ballroom after the president was evacuated from a dinner Saturday in a sprawling hotel ballroom where a gunman breached a security checkpoint.
But Republicans are divided on whether to make taxpayers foot the bill, with some preferring to let Trump raise money privately to construct the 90,000-square-foot ballroom. And Democrats remain firmly opposed, meaning it would be a heavy lift for Republicans to pass a bill.
On Monday, a trio of Republicans senators — Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Katie Britt of Alabama and Eric Schmitt of Missouri — announced legislation to provide $400 million to build a new ballroom on the White House grounds.
“America has a problem and we intend to fix it,” Graham told reporters. “This is not about Trump. It’s about the presidency of the United States. It’s about the person who occupies that office not being put at risk if they choose to go off campus.”
Graham said the money could be partially offset with “custom fees” but that it shouldn’t be left to private money. Underneath, he said, there will be "military stuff" and a "Secret Service annex."
“Private donations can be used, but I think they should be used for buying china and stuff like that,” he said.
Other Republicans told NBC News on Monday that the project should be done with private funding.
“I don’t know why you would do it” with taxpayer money “if it’s all funded," said Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., a Trump ally and spending hawk.
“We have $39 trillion in debt,” he added. “Maybe we ought to stop spending money.”
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said there’s a legal question about whether Congress has to vote to allow the White House to do major reconstruction on the White House property. But when it comes to funding, he said he prefers private over public funds.
“I think that the donors should all be public, but I don’t know why, if you’ve got private donors who want to do it ... I prefer that to the taxpayer being on the hook,” he said. “But I think it’s a separate question as to whether we need to authorize it.”
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said he too doesn’t favor using taxpayer funds for the new ballroom.
“I am always conservative and he already has the money,” Paul said. “And I’m not against putting in reconciliation and doing a nominal amount. I’m not for funding the whole $500 million. I think he’s already raised the money through private means.”
Comcast Corp., the parent company of NBC News, is among the corporate donors for Trump’s ballroom.
Asked to respond to fellow Republicans who oppose taxpayer funds, Graham said: “Just vote no. All I ask you to do is vote. I don’t care how you vote. I want a vote. I want to see: Where is America on this? I’ll bet you 90% of the people would love to have a better facility than the Hilton hotel to make sure this crap never happens again. ... There are people out there just one click away from picking up a gun or something else and trying to make America better by killing.”
“It’s not a private donation event — it’s a national security event.”
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Meanwhile, Democrats remain overwhelmingly opposed to the project and argue that Trump has broken the law by failing to get approval from Congress before demolishing the East Wing and pursuing the project, which has been subject to lawsuits. They also say the use of private money lends itself to corruption.
That position remains, even as they denounce what law enforcement has called an assassination attempt on Trump.
“There’s no room for political violence in the United States of America. I’m glad the president is safe. I’m glad the Secret Service did its job. It is also just a fact that the private events happen outside of the White House, and so we can’t be society where there’s no public events and everything happens in a reinforced ballroom,” Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, said. “So whether there would ever be 60 votes for for a ballroom — I haven’t counted yet, but I also haven’t found any Democrat who says yes.”
One Democrat who has spoken out in favor of building a ballroom since the Saturday dinner is Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, often the first to buck his party. He suggested Sunday that opponents of the project have “Trump derangement syndrome.”
“After witnessing last night, drop the TDS and build the White House ballroom for events exactly like these,” Fetterman said on X, without specifying whether it should receive taxpayer funds.
It appears highly unlikely that the ballroom legislation will get the 60 votes needed to pass the Senate.
Some Republicans are discussing whether to put the money into a party-line bill they’ve begun advancing to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection. Making changes to that bill, which only requires a simple majority to pass, could slow efforts to reopen the Department of Homeland Security amid a record-long shutdown.
Graham, who is shepherding that process as the chair of the Budget Committee, said his preference is to pass his ballroom bill through the regular process requiring 60 votes in the Senate.
“But if it doesn’t work, I’m for doing it anyway we can,” he said.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said he doesn't know that the ballroom can be funded by reconciliation, saying the existing budget only applies to other committees. "There are only two committees instructed, judiciary and homeland security. But, you know, we’ll see what’s achievable," he told reporters.
On Monday, the Justice Department charged Cole Tomas Allen, 31, a teacher and engineer from California, with attempting to assassinate Trump at the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.
Authorities said he ran through a security checkpoint in the Washington Hilton armed with a shotgun, handgun and knives and exchanged gunfire with law enforcement. He was prevented from entering the ballroom where the president, Vice President JD Vance, Speaker Mike Johnson and others in the line of succession were attending the dinner, the criminal complaint released Monday said.
Authorities said Allen had sent family members a note before the shooting saying he was targeting Trump administration officials, many who were in the ballroom.
“The White House ballroom project is not just a fun project for President Trump ... it is actually critical for our national security that a larger, secure building on this complex, which is the most secure complex in the world, is built to accommodate not only large amounts of guests, but also the president, the vice president, members of the Cabinet,” White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said Monday.
“The line of succession in this country should be able to gather free and safely without the fear of threats or political violence,” said Leavitt, who had been sitting at the head table with Trump.
Johnson, who can be seen on video being quickly evacuated by his security detail, told reporters: “They’re going to have to re-evaluate this. This is why we need the ballroom... We need a facility that is secure enough to host events like this without having major national security concerns.”
However, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., criticized the ballroom project when asked about it Monday, saying the U.S. national security priority should be to end the war with Iran.
“I have not seen a specific request with respect to the ballroom. But needless to say, we have to drive down the high cost of living. Life has become more expensive,” Jeffries told reporters, while calling on Congress to focus on other things. “Not a vanity project that resulted from the destruction — that was unauthorized — of the East Wing of the White House.”
