Republicans propose $1 billion in taxpayer dollars to secure Trump ballroom

White HouseRepublicans propose $1 billion in taxpayer dollars to secure Trump ballroomThe president said repeatedly that the White House ballroom would be privately funded but has raised security concerns, particularly in light of the correspondent's dinner shooting.Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00An excavator sits on the rubble after the East Wing of the White House was demolished in Oct. 2025 Washington, before construction of a new ballroom. .Alex Wong / Getty Images fileShareAdd NBC News to GoogleMay 5, 2026, 1:29 PM EDT / Updated May 5, 2026, 1:36 PM EDTBy Peter Nicholas, Frank Thorp V and Gary GrumbachWASHINGTON — For months, President Donald Trump portrayed the big new ballroom that he’s building on White House grounds as a gift to the nation, courtesy of patriotic private donors.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.“And by the way, no government funds,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office last November.“These are all private individuals that put up a lot of money to build the ballroom,” he added. "Not one penny is being used from the federal government."But the gleaming 90,000 square-foot space that he repeatedly said would cost the public nothing may ultimately leave taxpayers on the hook for $1 billion, due to new security enhancements that are tied to the project. body:has(.jw-flag-floating) .article-hero__container, body:has(.jw-flag-floating) .article-hero__media-holder, body:has(.jw-flag-floating) #content { z-index: auto; } Add NBC News to GoogleDOJ releases new video showing Correspondents’ Dinner suspect running through security02:58Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, has released a long-term immigration and border patrol funding bill that includes $1 billion earmarked for security improvements accompanying the overall ballroom project.The legislation states that the money is earmarked “for the purposes of security adjustments and upgr...