A border bill met a ballroom fight
Senate Republicans are trying to move a $72 billion reconciliation package that would fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol through the rest of President Donald Trump’s term. That goal ran into a familiar Senate specialty: adding one shiny, expensive extra and then acting surprised when the math starts screaming. Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina warned he would not back the package if it kept the $1 billion request tied to Trump’s ballroom project. He is not alone, since several other Republicans have also raised eyebrows at the price tag.
The White House said it was security
The administration says the money is for security, not decoration. Republicans were briefed by Secret Service Director Sean Curran on a plan that included $220 million for White House complex hardening, plus more money for a visitor screening center, Secret Service training, and other protective work. The list includes bulletproof glass, drone detection, and chemical filtration systems. In Washington, every building project eventually becomes a security project, which is handy when the line between protection and prestige gets blurry enough to need a budget memo.
The parliamentarian clipped the ballroom funding
For once, the Senate’s rule book did what rule books are supposed to do and got in the way. Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough ruled that the ballroom money should be stripped from the package under the Byrd Rule, which limits what can ride along in budget reconciliation. She said the project was too complex and too broad, involving many agencies and falling outside the Judiciary Committee’s jurisdiction. Democrats cheered, naturally. Republicans, who love a fast-track process until it slows them down, were left hoping the ruling would solve a problem they helped create by putting the money in there in the first place.
Thune still wants the bill moving
Senate Majority Leader John Thune says Republicans are trying to learn from past parliamentarian rulings and keep the package moving. He argues the process is a give-and-take, which is a polite Senate way of saying everybody gets some of what they want and a reminder that the rules are not optional. Even with the ballroom money out, the GOP still has to keep enough members together to pass the broader package. Sen. Jeff Merkley, the top Democrat on the Budget Committee, praised the ruling and accused Republicans of trying to waste money on what he called chaos and corruption. That is a bit rich in a town where fiscal discipline usually arrives late and in a blazer.
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