Senate Republicans have removed funding for President Donald Trump’s ballroom security from a major immigration funding package after the Senate parliamentarian ruled the provision violated budget rules, according to revised legislative text released Wednesday. The change is expected to help GOP leaders avoid procedural problems that could have forced the bill to clear a 60-vote threshold, which would have allowed Democrats to filibuster the broader measure and block the White House’s request for roughly $70 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and border security.
The ballroom funding had become one of the most controversial parts of the package. Senate Republican leaders concluded that leaving the language in place would have jeopardized the entire bill, and some GOP senators also worried the provision would draw political backlash at a time when many Americans are concerned about rising living costs ahead of the midterm elections. The White House sought to play down the decision, saying the removal was driven by parliamentary rules rather than pressure from Republicans.
Trump had previously criticized the parliamentarian and urged Senate Republicans to remove her, but GOP leaders did not pursue that path. Instead, they revised the legislation to strip out the ballroom-related money while preserving the larger immigration and security funding framework. The original Senate text had included nearly $1 billion for “security adjustments and upgrades” tied to the White House ballroom project, although administration officials later said only about $200 million would actually go toward the East Wing work, with the remainder intended for other security needs.
Construction on the ballroom is already underway, raising questions about how the project will proceed without congressional funding. Trump had said in the past that the ballroom would be financed through private donations, including his own contributions. He has made the project a visible priority and recently invited reporters to visit the construction site, highlighting what he described as security benefits.
The ballroom issue became a major point of tension within the Senate GOP as lawmakers tried to advance the immigration package. White House officials worked to keep the money in the bill, including bringing Secret Service Director Sean Curran to a Senate Republican lunch and having Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin speak with groups of GOP senators on Capitol Hill. Despite those efforts, leaders were unable to find a workaround that complied with the chamber’s budget rules.
The removal of the ballroom funding marks a setback for Trump, but it also clears one of the key hurdles facing the larger immigration legislation. The revised package now moves forward without the provision that had threatened to derail it procedurally and politically.
