The Trump administration moves $352 million in federal funds originally earmarked for Secret Service resources toward “White House Security Measures,” according to reporting across outlets. The money comes from the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” Trump’s signature tax legislation passed last year, which designates the funds for Secret Service personnel, training facilities, technology, and related costs, while not allowing spending for construction. Congress previously denied funding for the president’s White House ballroom proposal, and Trump has repeatedly said the project would be paid for through private donations. The administration’s transfer is therefore raising questions among lawmakers about whether public funds are being used indirectly for the ballroom or the related East Wing modernization project. Senators including Brian Schatz, Thom Tillis, and Chris Coons say the shift appears inconsistent with congressional intent and with Trump’s stated plan to avoid taxpayer money. The White House Office of Management and Budget says the ballroom will be financed by private donations the president has secured and points to the need for White House security measures, including the Secret Service’s role supporting the modernization effort. The ballroom is reported to be expected to cost about $600 million, with a significant share attributed to taxpayers in earlier coverage.
Trump administration redirects $352m earmarked for Secret Service to White House security measures
The Trump administration moves $352 million in federal funds originally earmarked for Secret Service resources toward “White House Security Measures,” according to reporting across outlets. The money...
- The administration transfers $352 million from funds designated for Secret Service resources to “White House Security Measures.”
- The transferred money originates in Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which restricts spending to Secret Service personnel, training, technology, and related costs.
- Some members of Congress argue the shift could be linked to the White House ballroom/East Wing modernization project despite Trump’s statements that it will be privately funded.
- The White House Office of Management and Budget says the ballroom will be built with private donations and cites White House security needs and the Secret Service’s supporting role.
- The ballroom is described as expected to cost about $600 million, with earlier reporting indicating a taxpayer-funded portion.
Funds meant for Secret Service were transferred to project president promised would be financed by private donationsUS politics live – latest updatesDonald Trump’s administration has quietly redirected $352m in federal funds designated for the Secret Service toward the president’s controversial White House ballroom project, despite repeated promises by Trump that the construction would be financed by private donationsThe funds were drawn from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Trump’s signature tax legislation passed last summer on Republican-only votes. The law stipulates the money may only be spent on Secret Service personnel, training facilities, technology and related costs, not construction. Continue reading...
16 hours agoAfter being denied funds for his ballroom by Congress, President Trump may have secretly taken them from somewhere else.Last week, the White House Office of Management and Budget moved $352 million earmarked for Secret Service resources toward “White House Security Measures,” NOTUS reports. Those Secret Service funds had originally been set up by Trump’s tax law, the “Big Beautiful Bill,” passed last year.Democrats and Republicans in Congress think the funds are being covertly diverted to Trump’s ballroom project.“I don’t know whether it’s the ballroom, but it sounds like the ballroom,” Democratic Senator Brian Schatz said to NOTUS.“That’s a big problem,” Republican Senator Thom Tillis said. “That sounds like a different way to fund the East Wing project. If the East Wing needs support, we should be transparent about if that is in fact what happened. It seems strangely similar to the ask of Congress, but my God, we just had people from [the] Secret Service coming here saying they needed more money, how they needed more funding, and now we may be shifting it away from a Secret Service priority. I just need details. On its face it doesn’t sound right.”Democratic Senator Chris Coons is also suspicious.“I think there’s been more and more credible coverage that President Trump was just flat-out lying when he said the taxpayers will not pay a dime for his ballroom,” Coons said. “I think he is now trying to find ways to funnel public money into it.”Trump’s ballroom is expected to cost $600 million, and half of that cost will come from taxpayers, according to a Washington Post report from earlier this week. Raiding the Secret Service’s money pot would cover that and more. This wouldn’t be the first time Trump has dipped his hand into funds appropriated by his own budget bill. His administration has previously used those funds to buy a luxury jet for former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and for “border security executive travel.”When NOTUS asked an OMB official about the transfer of funds Wednesday, that official brought up the ballroom unprompted.“The ballroom will be built with private donations the President has secured,” the official said in a statement to NOTUS. “The administration and the President have been very clear about the need for additional security at the White House complex and the role the Secret Service, in addition to other White House components, will play in supporting the necessary security elements associated with the East Wing Modernization project.”
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