Top Senate Republicans and the White House tried on Tuesday to ease reservations about providing $1 billion in taxpayer dollars for security related to President Trump’s ballroom project, emphasizing that only a portion of the money — $220 million — was tied to the new facility.
The disclosure was part of a intensifying lobbying campaign to push through a bill in the coming weeks to provide nearly $72 billion for immigration enforcement. It was included in a spreadsheet on how the security money would be parceled out that was distributed to Republican senators by Sean Curran, the chief of the Secret Service, who joined them at their weekly party luncheon at the Capitol.
“The question I think he was addressing was, how is this money going to be used, the $1 billion,” said Senator John Thune, Republican of South Dakota and the majority leader, noting that about 20 percent was for what he called the East Wing modernization project.
“Most of it is going to be used for other purposes: training facilities, technology, lots of other things that law enforcement — particularly, in this case, Secret Service — needs to ensure that they keep our president and other top officials safe.”
Mr. Curran said he had a “great meeting” with senators.
“The past two weeks I’ve been fielding questions from both sides of the aisle,” he said, adding that members of both parties had been “super professional and just really great partners and great supporters.”
Still, some Republican senators said they would need more specifics about the funding before they would commit to backing it in votes expected next week.
“He gave us a list that breaks down the spending in a little more detail, but there are still a lot of questions,” Senator John Kennedy, Republican of Louisiana, said.
Mr. Kennedy said that when the Senate takes up the legislation, he planned to offer an amendment that would strip out $1 billion but allow federal officials to spend other money from the bill on the security at their discretion.
“One of the biggest concerns on our side is adding to the deficit,” Mr. Kennedy said.
The new spending is not offset, and would add to the federal deficit.
With new figures showing the steepest monthly rise in inflation in three years, Democrats assailed the proposed spending for what Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon, the top Democrat on the Budget Committee, ridiculed as the “ballroom boondoggle.”
“All of this is being done not to give a single penny to help a single family on a single issue where they are pressed to the wall,” Mr. Merkley said.
The spending breakdown distributed to senators said the $220 million would be used to “harden” the ballroom against attack, including the installation of bulletproof glass, drone detection technology, chemical and other threat filters and detectors and multiple other security functions. It also noted that the bill explicitly bars the money from being spent for anything not related to security.
“Importantly, as the legislative text makes explicit, none of these funds will be used to support nonsecurity improvements at the White House,” the handout said. Mr. Trump has said that the $400 million cost of the ballroom itself would be paid for with private donations to the White House.
But he and other White House officials have also argued that the ballroom itself is necessary for security following multiple assassination attempts against the president, leaving open the possibility that the money could be used for any aspect of it.
Of the remainder of the $1 billion, the document said $180 million would be designated for a “long overdue” visitor screening facility, $175 million for updated training of Secret Service personnel, $175 million for security improvements for protectees, $150 million for special operations to counter drones and unmanned systems, and $100 million for security at high-profile national public events.
The spending proposal is currently undergoing a review to see if it complies with special Senate rules that allow it to pass on a straight majority vote, protecting it from the usual 60-vote threshold that would allow Democrats to block it with a filibuster. Mr. Thune said he expected the legislation to clear that procedural hurdle.
“The Democrats, obviously, are doing their best to try and undermine anything that we’re trying to accomplish here,” he said. “But I’m pretty confident based on past experience.”
Michael Gold contributed reporting.
Carl Hulse is the chief Washington correspondent for The Times, primarily writing about Congress and national political races and issues. He has nearly four decades of experience reporting in the nation’s capital.
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