The president says the renovation is necessary for national security purposes.
MATTHEW RICE -NYSUN.COM
The East Wing ballroom which once required zero dollars from the federal government is now in need of $400 million in taxpayer funds, according to multiple Republican senators. President Trump has made an impassioned case for the event space especially since the attempt on his life at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday night.
Mr. Trump unilaterally tore down the East Wing last October despite saying that his new ballroom plan would not “interfere” with the existing structure, which was traditionally home to the first lady’s office suite. The East Wing also sat above the Presidential Emergency Operations Center — a bunker meant to secure the president and other top officials in the event of major natural disasters or attacks on the homeland.
On Monday, the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, Senator Lindsey Graham, held a press conference with two colleagues to demand that $400 million in taxpayer funds be allocated for the construction of the new ballroom. Both Messrs. Graham and Trump say the money will cover the construction of an updated bunker and a new Secret Service command center.
“I’ve never felt the sense of threat that I feel today,” Mr. Graham told reporters at a press conference on Monday. “There’s so many disturbed people that are just one click away from feeling like they’ve gotta fix America by killing somebody.”
Mr. Graham says the ballroom is especially necessary now that Mr. Trump has been the victim of an attempted assassination for a third time in less than two years. On Saturday night, the alleged attacker at the Correspondents’ Dinner, Cole Allen, while carrying two firearms, sprinted past a security checkpoint and came within a few steps of making his way down the stairs to enter the ballroom.
Law enforcement was able to stop him before he made his way down those stairs, though only after he fired one shot inside the hotel. It is not yet clear if he was the person who shot a law enforcement agent inside the building on Saturday.
The first and second in the presidential line of succession — Vice President JD Vance and Speaker Mike Johnson — were both in the Washington Hilton international ballroom when Mr. Allen rushed toward the venue. Both men were swiftly removed from the room.
“When the president, the vice president, the speaker of the House, most of the cabinet meets at the same time, those should be seldom, but very secure,” Mr. Graham said, acknowledging that many initially viewed the ballroom as a possible “vanity project.”
The South Carolina senator argued Monday that it was “necessary” to have a meeting space on White House grounds for events such as the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. The current projections for the ballroom’s capacity fall between 1,000 and 1,400 individuals — far less than the 2,600 people who attended the Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday.
“I’m convinced [that] if there had been a presidential ballroom adjacent to the White House, the guy never would’ve gotten in,” Mr. Graham said.
The senator from South Carolina says that Congress should authorize $400 million in funds for the ballroom, which would include a Secret Service “annex” and other military operations centers. He says that it will be paid for by “customs fees,” which are imposed on imports from foreign nations, the cost of which are often passed on to American consumers.
Despite the president’s long-running assertion that the ballroom should not be paid for with taxpayer money, Mr. Graham says the $400 million will more than cover the cost of the event space. He says private donors can give money to buy things like china.
“The estimate is $332 million. We’re gonna do $400 million because I think it’s probably gonna take more,” Mr. Graham said.
He was joined at the press conference by Senators Katie Britt and Eric Schmitt. Ms. Britt, the chairwoman of the subcommittee which funds the Department of Homeland Security, says it was not only about Mr. Trump, but about presidents “in the future,” as well.
“[The ballroom] is a great idea by our president,” Ms. Britt told reporters, embracing the new construction project.
Less than two weeks ago, Mr. Trump said that the ballroom would come at no expense to taxpayers. “A Trump Hating Judge, for the first time in History, wants Congress to pay Hundreds of Millions of Dollars for a Glorious Ballroom, instead of accepting Donations from Great American Companies and Citizens,” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social referencing a lawsuit which saw a judge rule that Congress must authorize — not fund — a new ballroom where the East Wing once stood.
“This is a first — In other words, he wants Tax Payers to pay for the Ballroom, instead of Donors and Patriots! The Ballroom is FREE to our Country, A GIFT, and vital for our National Security,” the president wrote.