A White House office sent money to the Secret Service for security at the president’s residence, drawing bipartisan scrutiny into whether taxpayer dollars are going toward the construction of a politically fraught ballroom.
The Office of Management and Budget released $352 million from Republicans’ 2025 tax and spending law to the Secret Service late last week to pay for “White House Security Measures,” according to disclosures made public this week.
The funding transfer raised eyebrows in Congress, where Democrats and some Republicans have objected to the use of government money for the ballroom project that President Donald Trump launched without congressional authorization.
Most of those funds — $340.8 million — came from an account dedicated to “procurement, construction, and improvements.” Another $10.8 million came from operations and support money.
Senate Appropriations Chair
“The president said that the ballroom would be constructed with private donations,” Collins said Wednesday. “This raises the question of whether federal funds are also being used for it, or whether these are just security upgrades that the Secret Service needs.”
Senate Budget Committee Ranking Member Jeff Merkley also wrote to acting OMB Deputy Director Hal Duncan this week asking him to provide detailed plans and legal justification for the transfer, according to a Merkley spokesperson. The Oregon Democrat specifically asked whether it would “be used, in part or in whole, for aspects of the East Wing Modernization Project.”
Duncan is seeking confirmation to his current role. The Budget panel will schedule a vote on his nomination after they get his responses to written questions, according to a spokesperson for Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.).
The tax law funding to the Secret Service will eventually total $385.8 million as varying amounts of funds move through administrative procedure, according to a senior administration official.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said private donations would fund the ballroom and that the Secret Service is properly using the funding to build out a new visitor screening center and take other steps to secure the White House complex.
“President Trump and generous American patriots are funding the ballroom to the tune of approximately $400 million, which will be a secure and appropriate venue for Presidents for generations to come,” said White House spokesman Davis Ingle in an email. “The events over the weekend and the foiled attack on the historic UFC Freedom 250 event at the White House proves exactly why the East Wing Modernization Project is severely needed for large scale events, which include drone proof structures and drone ports among other critical security enhancements.”
Republicans included $1.17 billion for the Secret Service in last year’s budget reconciliation bill (
GOP senators rebelled at sending another $1 billion to the Secret Service to cover the security costs of the overhaul of the East Wing, ultimately stripping the money out of their sequel budget reconciliation bill (
Democrats on Tuesday seized on a Washington Post report that the administration planned to use taxpayer funding to cover more than half of the cost of the project. The Justice Department is appealing an earlier ruling that the project can’t move forward without congressional approval.
“President Trump is lying to American families about who is footing the bill for his ballroom,” House Budget Committee ranking member
Democrats on the House Appropriations Committee also plan to “fight for the transparency into how taxpayer money is spent that the American people deserve,” Rep.