The Senate parliamentarian rules against including a $1 billion provision aimed at funding security and construction connected to President Trump’s planned White House ballroom in a budget reconciliation package. The ruling is issued late Saturday, and it affects the budget bill language that would have provided the funding through reconciliation. Sen. Jeff Merkley, the ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee, says the parliamentarian’s guidance indicates that the project is too complex and large in scale to be carried in the reconciliation measure under Senate rules. Fox News similarly reports that the parliamentarian rejects the $1 billion effort, describing it as White House security funding tied to the ballroom.
As a result of the ruling, the $1 billion provision is not included in the reconciliation package as drafted. The decision reflects the parliamentarian’s assessment of what kinds of items can be advanced through the budget process, rather than a direct appraisal of the underlying project itself.
