President Donald Trump on Tuesday forcefully defended his White House ballroom after about $1 billion in related Secret Service funding was kicked out of a Senate Republican bill over the weekend.
Standing in front of the ballroom construction site amid renderings of the project, the president sought to blunt criticism that taxpayers could subsidize the effort, insisting the ballroom itself would be financed entirely through private money and Congress is only being asked to fund related security projects.
“This is all my money and donors’ money,” Trump said. “This is tax free.” He added that “Congress is approving money for security. Some of it may go here for additional security. I don’t know. But this building, I put up the money to build this building. Along with a lot of great patriots.”
The Senate parliamentarian dealt a blow to the GOP effort when she ruled the provision violated Senate reconciliation rules, complicating Republican plans to advance the funding without Democratic support.
