Senate referee halts funding Trump's ballroom comes under threat from an unexpected source
The Republican Senate majority wants to give Trump's ballroom federal funds for its Secret Service security. The referee rejects the bill as inadmissible. Time is of the essence.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- President Trump says private donations are funding his ballroom.
- Republicans have wrapped ballroom-related security measures into a larger funding package.
- The independent Senate Arbitrator has rejected the bill as inadmissible.
Republicans wanted to provide $1 billion for the Secret Service as part of a comprehensive legislative package to tighten immigration policy - as part of a $72 billion national security funding package.
According to the government, part of the money was to flow directly into the planned building project at the White House - including around 220 million dollars for the new ballroom and the modernization of the East Wing.
But nothing will come of this for the time being.
The Senate referee intervenes
This is where Elizabeth MacDonough comes into play. Her office is called Senate Parliamentarian, but she is not a member of the small chamber, but the impartial guardian of compliance with the Senate's rules of procedure. The lawyer has held this position since 2012.
MacDonough ruled on Saturday that the passage in question was not permissible in its current form, according to numerous US media outlets such as the New York Times and Politico. The reasoning: The funding did not in part fall within the jurisdiction of the Judiciary Committee, which had introduced the text into the law.
Officially, the money is to go to the Secret Service for security measures around the new ballroom. This is a setback for the Republicans and for Trump personally.
The President had always claimed that the 300 to 400 million construction costs would be covered by private donations. US taxpayers are now expected to pay more than half of the necessary security measures.
The Republicans wanted to pass the funding through the Senate using the simplified procedure, in which a simple majority of votes is sufficient. The rejection of the Senate parliamentarian means that the supporters of the package will either adapt it or achieve 60 of the 100 Senate votes in favor. The Republicans hold 53 votes, which would doom the bill to failure.
Democrats combative, Republicans unimpressed
The Democrats believe they are on the upswing in the fight against the ballroom. Not for the first time, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer railed against Trump's building plans: "Democrats will fight this tooth and nail - with the Byrd Rule, in the Senate through votes and wherever Republicans try to take Americans' hard-earned money for Trump's gilded palace."
The Byrd Rule, named after Senator Robert Byrd, prohibits certain budget items from being dealt with through a simplified process - as should have happened with the ballroom funding integrated into a larger spending package.
Behind the scenes, work on a new version of the bill is already in full swing. Republicans on the Judiciary Committee confirmed on Saturday night: "Talks and revisions continue, as they have for days."
The project had already caused unrest within the Republican Party. Some senators feared that the billions in funding would be difficult to communicate politically - especially given the direct link to Trump's prestigious construction project.
Others hoped that MacDonough would only object to individual formulations, such as the explicit references to the "East Wing Modernization Project". Instead, the entire passage failed.
Time pressure: Trump wants the law by June 1
The Senate, or more precisely the supporters of the grants, are under time pressure. Trump is pushing for the bill to be passed by June 1. The Senate wants to pass the package before the planned recess next week if possible and then pass it on to the House of Representatives.
The parliamentarian's decision is not the first setback for the Republicans. On Thursday, MacDonough had already objected to four other parts of the multi-billion immigration package, which includes massive additional funding for the immigration authority ICE.
Once again, the US institutions are placing limits on Trump and the current Republican leadership. The outcome of this power struggle remains open.