The Trump administration has quietly redirected $352 million in federal funds originally allocated for the Secret Service to finance the president's controversial White House ballroom project, despite repeated assurances that the construction would be funded by private donations.
The funds were taken from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Trump's signature tax legislation passed last summer. The law specifies that the money must be used for Secret Service personnel, training facilities, technology and related costs, not construction. According to the Office of Management and Budget, $340.8 million was placed into a 'Procurement, Construction, and Improvements' account on 12 June, with an additional $10.75 million approved for 'Operations and Support'.
The move follows Congress's refusal to provide $1 billion for the 'East Wing Modernization Project', a 90,000-square-foot ballroom built on the site of the demolished White House East Wing. The administration argues the funds are needed for security upgrades, citing recent threats against President Trump.
White House spokesperson Davis Ingle stated that the project is 'inextricably tied to the security of the president' and claimed that Trump and 'generous American patriots' are funding the ballroom with approximately $400 million. However, internal records from Clark Construction show plans calling for $155 million from Secret Service funds, $149 million from the White House military office, and $3 million from the executive residence—all public money—alongside private contributions.
Senior legislators have expressed concern. Senator Thom Tillis, a retiring Republican from North Carolina, told Notus: 'That sounds like a different way to fund the East Wing project. On its face it doesn’t sound right.' Democratic Senator Brian Schatz added: 'I don’t know whether it’s the ballroom, but it sounds like the ballroom.'
Watchdogs including the Campaign Legal Center have warned that donations from major corporations such as Meta, Coinbase and Lockheed Martin, which have significant interests before the federal government, create a substantial risk of corruption. Construction remains subject to legal challenges after a federal judge ruled in March that the administration likely exceeded its authority in demolishing the East Wing without congressional approval.
