President Donald Trump’s proposed effort to secure taxpayer-funded security enhancements related to the White House banquet hall hit a roadblock after senators ruled that a $1 billion Secret Service provision cannot be included in the Republican immigration enforcement bill as drafted.
But Senate Republicans are still trying to get the funding back.
“We’re going to try a new approach,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters on Monday, MS NOW reported. He noted that during last year’s deliberations on the Republican tax and spending bill, it took five attempts to get senators to approve parts of the bill.
“You’re continuing to think about how do we address the concerns that are being raised there and what are the pathways to doing that,” Thune said on Capitol Hill.
Assemblywoman Elizabeth McDonough ruled Saturday that the provision, which includes $220 million for security upgrades related to the East Wing ballroom project, is outside the jurisdiction of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Budget reconciliation bills must follow strict rules, including the Byrd Rule, which prohibits provisions unrelated to federal spending or deemed outside the jurisdiction of the drafting committee. It’s up to legislators to decide what fits and what doesn’t.
That means Republicans would have to rewrite the language if they want to include it in a partisan budget reconciliation bill. Using the reconciliation process would bypass the Senate filibuster threshold of 60 votes, allowing a party with a narrow majority to pass budget legislation with a simple majority of votes.
“Redraft, amend, resubmit. None of this is unusual in the Byrd process,” Ryan Russ, a spokesman for Senate Minority Leader John Thune (R.S.D.), wrote about X after the provision was repealed.
The provision is part of a broader Republican immigration enforcement package that provides about $72 billion to border and immigration agencies, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection.
The White House and Senate Republicans are framing the $1 billion as money for the Secret Service to beef up security, rather than directly building the banquet hall.
A funding breakdown memo obtained by MS NOW says $220 million will go toward the East Wing ballroom project and the rest will go toward other Secret Service security measures. President Trump said the banquet hall itself would be funded by private donors, not taxpayers.
The new move comes in the wake of the attempted shooting on President Trump’s life at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in April, which Republicans have cited as evidence that additional security measures are needed. The dinner will be hosted by a journalist organization, not the government.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawmakers’ ruling.
The ruling adds further complexity as Senate Republican leaders rush to pass a sweeping immigration package this week and send it back to the House before the week’s recess.
McDonough has already ruled against several other bills, forcing Republican leaders to amend multiple provisions in an effort to get the policy back on track.
A Republican spokesperson for the Senate Judiciary Committee did not respond to a request for comment.
Democrats argue that security funding amounts to taxpayers helping fund projects.
“While we expect Republicans to make changes to this bill to appease President Trump, Democrats are prepared to challenge any changes to this bill,” Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, said in a statement.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D.Y.) said Democrats will continue to fight the proposal “in bird baths, on the Senate floor where votes are held, and anywhere else Republicans seek to plunder Americans’ hard-earned funds for President Trump’s gilded palace.”
