Senate Republicans on Wednesday formally abandoned their attempt to include $1bn for security improvements at Donald Trump's White House ballroom in a broader immigration enforcement bill, after the provision threatened to derail the entire measure.
The Senate judiciary committee released a revised version of the Secure America Act that no longer mentions the ballroom funding. The bill, which authorises $70bn for immigration enforcement agencies, advanced on a party-line vote of 53-46 later that afternoon.
The ballroom proposal had sparked a major standoff, with Democratic minority leader Chuck Schumer vowing to fight it “with every tool we have”. The funding's prospects were further complicated when the Senate parliamentarian ruled it did not comply with budget reconciliation rules, the procedure Republicans were using to bypass a filibuster.
Schumer claimed credit for the removal, saying: “Even without Trump’s billion-dollar, taxpayer-funded ballroom – which Democrats successfully killed despite Republicans’ best efforts – this bill is rotten through and through.” He threatened to force Republicans into tough votes on tariffs, the Iran war, and immigration enforcement abuses.
A White House official downplayed the exclusion, stating that the parliamentarian's decision was reported weeks ago and that the framing implying deliberate removal was false. The bill now allocates $13bn to Customs and Border Protection, $31bn to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and $2.5bn to the Department of Homeland Security for immigration enforcement.
