Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) said he won’t support security funding for President Donald Trump’s ballroom project as it currently stands in the package.
“Right now, they don’t have a bid, they don’t have engineering, they don’t have architecture. I mean, they literally don’t have a bid,”
The ballroom security funding faces challenges both with support in the Republican caucus and with the chamber’s procedural rules after the parliamentarian advised over the weekend that it didn’t pass muster. Cassidy’s stance comes after he was defeated in Saturday’s primary, where his opponents, including Trump’s preferred candidate Rep. Julia Letlow, are heading to a run-off.
Senate Republicans attached $1 billion for the Secret Service to their legislation funding immigration enforcement agencies through the budget reconciliation process — and the administration said last week that $220 million of that would pay for security upgrades in the new East Wing.
Other Senate Republicans have also expressed skepticism about supporting the ballroom security funds. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), another senator in his last term, signaled this week he wouldn’t support the package if ballroom funding stays in.