President Donald Trump’s new ballroom was the subject of controversy on Wednesday in Congress.
The White House requested $1 billion for the U.S. Secret Service, including about $220 million for “hardening” the ballroom.
“We live in a dangerous time, and there are new and increasing threats that we have never faced before, and so Congress has a role in funding that,” U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson said on Wednesday.
Democrats and some Republican lawmakers were skeptical. Trump said private donations would fund the $400 million East Wing project.
“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,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said on Tuesday.
The Senate Homeland Security Committee included the $1 billion in the next budget reconciliation bill, which will fund immigration law enforcement.
Supporters considered the assassination attempts, including the most recent during the White House Correspondents’ dinner.
“Keeping the leader of the free world safe is an expensive proposition,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said on Tuesday. ”The Secret Service has a job to defend and protect the president, and we need to make sure they have the tools to do it.”
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