Senate GOP Kills $70B Border Bill Over Trump's $1B Ballroom Security Fund
Republican senators block homeland security funding before June 1 deadline, citing concerns over $1 billion for Trump White House ballroom project security.
Senate Republicans killed a$70 billion homeland security bill Thursday, refusing to restore funding to ICE and Border Patrol over concerns about $1 billion earmarked for security measures tied to Trump's controversial White House ballroom project.
The legislation will not pass before Trump's June 1 deadline, Republican senators told reporters as lawmakers departed Washington for Memorial Day recess. The collapse marks a rare GOP rebellion against their own president over taxpayer spending.
Ballroom Security Sparks GOP Revolt
Congressional Republicans balked at diverting taxpayer dollars toward what Trump calls his "East Wing modernization project" amid rising cost-of-living concerns nationwide. The timing, just months before November's midterm elections, spooked GOP lawmakers worried about voter backlash.
Trump defended the ballroom funding as essential for national security, including a drone port and bulletproof glass installations.
If they want to spend money securing the White House, I think it would be very much a good expenditure. Well, the White House won't be a very secure place.
The president made the comments when asked what would happen if Congress rejected the funds.
Anti-Weaponization Fund Adds to GOP Concerns
Senate Republicans also expressed alarm over a separate $1.776 billion "anti-weaponization" fund announced Monday. Critics called it a slush fund designed to compensate Trump allies as part of an agreement where Trump and his sons dropped a $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS.
The secretive fund's structure intensified Republican anxiety about approving what they viewed as potentially unchecked presidential spending, as Insider Wire previously reported.
Meanwhile, Trump fired two leaders of the US Preventive Services Task Force, which determines insurance coverage for preventive care like mammograms and colonoscopies. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. terminated their appointments in May 11 letters, cutting short their multiyear terms.
The administration also moved to loosen federal rules requiring grocery stores and air-conditioning companies to reduce greenhouse gases in cooling equipment, citing efforts to lower grocery costs for Americans.
The border funding collapse leaves ICE and Border Patrol operations in limbo as Trump's June 1 deadline approaches, with no clear path forward before lawmakers return from recess.
