Republicans on Capitol Hill were already starting to get cold feet about including $1 billion in “security” funding for President Donald Trump’s White House ballroom project, which has become politically toxic as the economy has continued to slide downhill.
But a new report claimed Thursday a way to kill it may have landed at their feet — without the need to stand up to Trump.
According to Semafor, the funding is in “serious jeopardy” because it might run afoul of budget rules, and the Senate parliamentarian — a key figure in adjudicating budget legislation — could order it removed before the broader Senate even gets to take a vote.
“Some Republicans think the ballroom money will ultimately be stripped out of the final party-line immigration enforcement funding legislation under the strict rules for reconciliation bills,” according to the report. “Some Republicans might even prefer that to a brutal floor vote that would put vulnerable incumbents in a tricky position.”
Trump, who summarily razed the East Wing of the White House to start the project, spent months promising that the ever-growing price tag for the ballroom would be paid for with private donations and not use any taxpayer money. That changed this month when he demanded $1 billion in public money to install top-range security features.
“Many of the things that folks were hoping to have included, seems to me, my years of experience in going through this, you’re going to be running up against some real challenges,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), telling Semafor that “when it comes to the ballroom itself, the president made it very clear that taxpayer dollars weren’t going to go towards that — that that was going to be funded by donations.”
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), meanwhile, told Semafor that even if the provision stays in, there “may be some changes made to satisfy members” — and it’s unclear that if it passed the Senate, it would have the votes in the House.
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