The Trump administration has quietly redirected hundreds of millions of dollars originally designated for Secret Service recruitment and training, potentially to help fund construction of the president’s enormous ballroom, according to a new report.
On Friday, the Office of Management and Budget revealed that $352 million in Secret Service funding — equivalent to more than one-tenth of the agency’s total budget — would be shifted to “White House security measures,” according to government documents.
A source familiar with the matter told The Washington Post that the funds will support construction of a new East Wing including President Donald Trump’s desire for a 90,000 square foot ballroom.
When Trump first proposed replacing the historic East Wing with a large ballroom last summer, he said the project would cost $200 million and be funded entirely through private donations. That price tag was later doubled to $400 million. Internal projections, revealed this week, put that cost higher again - at $600 million - roughly half of which would be covered by taxpayers.
White House spokesperson Davis Ingle told The Independent: “The East Wing Modernization Project is inextricably tied to the security of the President, the White House grounds and the certain security infrastructure assets.”
The $352M is part of funds allocated by the “Big, Beautiful Bill,” a GOP-backed spending measure signed into law last July. The money was intended to strengthen the Secret Service following assassination attempts of Trump in Pennsylvania and Florida.
The law gave $1.17 billion to the Secret Service, specifying that the money would support “personnel, training facilities, programming, and technology,” along with “performance, retention, and signing bonuses” for agency staff.
A number of lawmakers from both parties raised questions about the reallocation of $352M.
Senator Jeff Merkley, an Oregon Democrat, told the Post that the funding shift indicated Trump is more interested in a “vanity project” than security.
Senator Susan Collins, a Maine Republican, also said: “I’ve said repeatedly that the President has promised only private donations would be used for the ballroom, and I believe he should keep that promise.”
Last July, Trump said the ballroom, which he claimed is necessary for hosting large events, would cost $200 million and be funded entirely through private donations. Later, he revised that figure to $400 million.
However, this week, the Post reported that Clark Construction, the Maryland-based firm overseeing the project, informed the White House in March that the space would actually cost $600 million.
Of that figure, about 48 percent was projected to come from “private sources,” while about 51 percent was slated to come from the Secret Service, the White House Military Office and the Executive Residence, sources funded by public dollars.
“President Trump and generous American patriots are funding the ballroom to the tune of approximately $400 million, which will be a secure and appropriate venue for Presidents for generations to come,” White House spokesperson Davis Ingle said.
Ingle added that recent events demonstrate the ballroom's necessity for presidential safety, noting it will include drone ports and other security enhancements. Beyond the attempted assassinations in Pennsylvania and Florida, the president has faced additional threats recently.
In April, a gunman fired at the White House Correspondents' Dinner at the Washington Hilton. In May, a gunman was killed by the Secret Service outside the White House. A “planned attack” on Trump’s 80th birthday UFC fight event at the White House this past weekend included explosive-laden drones and snipers intended to target fleeing viewers, according to the FBI.
Multiple polls indicate the ballroom project is deeply unpopular. In an April Ipsos survey, 56 percent of respondents said they opposed the development altogether, while just 28 percent said they supported it.
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