Senate Parliamentarian Puts Brakes On Ballroom Secret Service Funding – Full Article

Some Senate Republicans had already expressed reservations about the GOP proposal to use $1 billion in taxpayer funding for the ballroom project, despite Donald Trump previously stating that the project would require “no government funds.”

According to a memo obtained by NBC News, Republican senators were presented earlier this week with a breakdown of the proposed funding that included $220 million to strengthen security around the White House complex, $180 million for a visitor screening facility, $175 million for training initiatives, and another $175 million for enhanced protection measures for United States Secret Service protectees.

“I still got some more questions, and they’re going to send us more information,” Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., said after the meeting. “I’m undecided.”

Two more Republican senators, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Susan Collins of Maine, said the entire project should be done with private funds, as Trump initially said it would be.