Senate Advances Reconciliation Bill, Excludes Funding for White House Ballroom

Washington — Senate Republicans are advancing a funding package aimed at supporting the Department of Homeland Security’s immigration agencies. This move comes after debates concerning the Justice Department’s controversial “anti-weaponization” fund, which had previously jeopardized the much-anticipated funding.

On Wednesday, a revised segment of the package was released, removing a controversial provision that would have allocated $1 billion for the Secret Service. This amount included funds for renovating President Trump’s East Wing to accommodate a new ballroom. Due to significant opposition from several Republican senators, this funding was ultimately excluded.

Last month, Republicans from the Senate Judiciary and Homeland Security committees introduced the initial version of the $72 billion funding package, designed to finance immigration agencies through the fiscal year 2029. Around 3 p.m., the Senate began voting on whether to advance this measure.

GOP senators have been seeking clarity from the administration regarding the contentious Justice Department fund. This was a major topic during a heated meeting with acting Attorney General Todd Blanche two weeks prior. On Tuesday, Blanche testified before a House committee, stating that “we are not moving forward with the fund.”

The DOJ program, which proposed taxpayer-funded compensation for individuals claiming governmental “weaponization” against them, faced strong opposition on Capitol Hill. Some Republicans still harbored concerns on Tuesday that the fund might be revived despite Blanche’s reassurances.

However, Senate Majority Leader John Thune appeared optimistic following Blanche’s testimony, believing that Republicans have garnered the necessary support to move the legislation forward on Wednesday.

“We’re hopeful,” Thune told reporters at the Capitol, adding that he’s “keeping fingers crossed.”

Thune said that “most of our members feel pretty satisfied” with Blanche’s comments, noting that they occurred during a public hearing under oath, despite Blanche’s refusal to put anything in writing.

“His comments were extremely helpful,” Thune said. “Whether they are enough for some of our members, we’ll find out.”

A handful of Senate Republicans have signaled that they remain skeptical, like Sens. Thom Tillis of North Carolina and John Cornyn of Texas. Cornyn anticipated Tuesday that Blanche’s comments may not be “good enough for some people.” And the Texas Republican, who lost his primary last week after the president backed his opponent, shared a Wall Street Journal editorial on Wednesday morning that argued Republicans in Congress can kill the DOJ fund for good by barring money for its use. 

Tillis indicated to reporters that he will offer an amendment on the reconciliation bill to address the fund, arguing that additional action needs to be taken to assure the fund is defunct. 

“I think even DOJ knows that this was a bad idea and what we need to do is provide finality,” Tillis said. “They’ve said that they’ve quiesced the program, then why can’t we just take the step of statutorily eliminate the question, so that a future decision to reopen it is eliminated?”

The movement on reconciliation comes after months of Democrats opposing funding for the immigration enforcement agencies. Republicans have been moving ahead with their plan on their own through the budget reconciliation process, which sidesteps the 60-vote threshold required to advance most legislation.