One billion dollars for security - and a ballroom no one asked for

Chuck Grassley, Republican senator from Iowa and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, introduced a one billion dollar funding package late Monday night. It is intended to cover security measures around the White House connected to the so called East Wing Modernization Project, the official name used by the Trump administration for its plan to rebuild the East Wing of the White House. The legislative text is explicit on one point: the money may not be used for non security related elements of the project. That refers to the planned ballroom. Grassley’s spokesperson Clare Slattery said the bill does not fund a ballroom, it provides resources for improvements to the Secret Service so that all presidents, their families and staff can be adequately protected.

The White House sees it differently. Spokesperson Davis Ingle said the legislation, if enacted, would cover the entire project, including the ballroom. Two sides, one text, two completely different interpretations. It might be called room for interpretation if it were not about one billion dollars in taxpayer money.

Trump had the East Wing of the White House demolished last year to make room for a roughly 90,000 square meter construction project. The ballroom included in it is expected by the administration to cost around 400 million dollars, allegedly financed entirely by private donors and not by taxpayers. Now one billion dollars from the federal budget is to secure the area around this building, which at the time of this debate has not even been completed. Photos from last week show construction workers who have already erected a concrete structure with exposed steel beams.

Federal judge Richard Leon halted the above ground construction last month and ruled that Congress must approve the project before work can continue. Work justified on the grounds of national security may continue under his order. An appeals court has temporarily suspended Leon’s order while it reviews the case. The Justice Department had asked Leon in a filing to lift his construction halt, citing among other things the shooting incident at the Correspondents’ Dinner. The filing stylistically resembled Trump’s own social media posts. Leon was not persuaded. It was the second time.

The Justice Department had previously argued that the planned building must be protected against drones, ballistic missiles, bullets and biological threats, and that a construction halt could put the president, his family and White House staff at risk. The National Trust for Historic Preservation, which originally sued over the project, pointed out that despite this alleged security situation, Trump continues to live in the White House and host foreign dignitaries there. Attorney Gregory Craig wrote to the Justice Department that the claim this legal dispute puts the president in serious danger is false and irresponsible.

A recent poll by several media outlets and Ipsos shows that 56 percent of Americans oppose the project, while 28 percent support it. Democratic senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon said Republicans are ignoring the needs of the middle class and instead directing money toward Trump’s ballroom. The funding package is set to be included in the Senate’s budget reconciliation plan, which can be passed by a simple majority without Democratic votes and without a filibuster. One billion dollars for the security of a building whose secured purpose so far appears to be dancing.