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description= The American people are weathering $5 gas, $6 diesel, and skyrocketing fertilizer costs because of the war of choice in Iran, and now the GOP want you to pay $1 Billion for a ballroom, Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, wrote on social media.;
keywords=PolitiFact, Trump, Democrats, Congress, ballroom dancing;
author=Maria Briceño and Louis Jacobson, PolitiFact reporters;

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Text of the page (random words):
fact check are republicans seeking 1b in taxpayer funds for trump s white house ballroom wral com fact check are republicans seeking 1b in taxpayer funds for trump s white house ballroom the american people are weathering 5 gas 6 diesel and skyrocketing fertilizer costs because of the war of choice in iran and now the gop want you to pay 1 billion for a ballroom rep marcy kaptur d ohio wrote on social media posted 5 14 2026 9 05 20 pm updated 5 14 2026 9 08 42 pm related politifact trump democrats congress ballroom dancing fact check are republicans seeking 1b in taxpayer funds for trump s white house ballroom by maria briceño and louis jacobson politifact reporters president donald trump has insisted that his proposed white house ballroom will be paid for with private donations now senate republicans have offered legislation that would spend 1 billion of taxpayers money on what they say are security measures for a white house modernization project which includes the ballroom senators including judiciary chairman chuck grassley r iowa introduced legislation may 4 that would fund the white house security projects that provision part of a reconciliation bill could pass the senate on a simple majority vote rather than a 60 vote supermajority the proposal is awaiting a vote other wral top stories rep marcy kaptur d ohio reshared a post with a budget breakdown for the bill the american people are weathering 5 gas 6 diesel and skyrocketing fertilizer costs because of the war of choice in iran kaptur wrote may 5 on x and now the gop want you to pay 1 billion for a ballroom other democrats joined the chorus republicans are on a different planet than american families wrote senate minority leader chuck schumer d n y in a may 5 x post republicans looked at families drowning in bills and decided what they really needed was more raids and a trump ballroom rep jamie raskin d md wrote may 5 on x trump said not one penny is being used from the federal government to fund his ballroom boondoggle true in the sense that 1 billion is a lot more than one penny another gop billion dollar bailout for the gaudy gilded king paid for courtesy of the american commoners the rest of us minus the billionaires who pay no taxes grassley s bill doesn t say the 1 billion will be used for building the ballroom it says the money can be used only for security aspects of the east wing modernization project which includes the ballroom however experts told politifact it would be difficult to designate project features as purely for security or purely for construction a kaptur spokesperson told politifact that the white house s support for taxpayer funding amounts to a 180 degree flip after more than a year of trump saying that no taxpayer funds would be used to construct the ballroom trump s ballroom size costs in october 2025 trump launched his quest for a white house ballroom by demolishing the white house s east wing trump said the 90 000 square foot ballroom would seat 999 people far larger than any room in the current white house complex the unprecedented demolition and construction drew a lawsuit by a historic preservation group because the project lacked approval from congress or the agency that approves construction of federal buildings although the national capital planning commission approved the project april 2 a judicial ruling said it still needs congressional approval the white house first said the project would cost 200 million and would be privately funded trump later upped that figure to 400 million pledges came from individuals and corporations such as amazon google meta and microsoft according to a white house list following an april 25 shooting inside the hotel hosting the white house correspondents association dinner that trump was attending he said the event was proof that the white house needs a secure ballroom some republicans quickly agreed on april 28 sens lindsey graham r s c katie britt r ala and eric schmitt r mo introduced a bill authorizing 400 million in federal funding for the design construction and other appropriate expenses to complete the east wing modernization project including a secure state ballroom what the bill says about the ballroom and security features grassley s legislation says federal funding would support the u s secret service for security adjustments and upgrades relating to the east wing modernization project including above ground and below ground security features the legislation also specifies that the funds can t be used for non security elements of the east wing modernization project it doesn t spell out what is a non security element it defines the term east wing modernization project as the building plan the national capital planning commission approved april 2 that project also includes building a new colonnade adding a new office suite for the first lady and replacing a movie theater the bill did not specify the security adjustments and upgrades that the legislation would fund but trump and the justice department have offered some examples of planned security in a legal filing last month the justice department said the east wing project would include missile resistant steel columns military grade venting drone proof ceilings and bullet ballistic and blast proof glass which it says will protect the main white house and west wing as well the filing also mentions bomb shelters a state of the art hospital and medical facilities top secret military installations structures and equipment we asked the white house how the 1 billion would be used on the east wing project and about plans to separate taxpayer money so it s not used to fund the ballroom white house spokesperson davis ingle s reply didn t answer those questions congress has rightly recognized the need for these funds ingle said due in part to the recent assassination attempt on president trump at the white house correspondents dinner the proposal would provide the united states secret service with the resources they need to fully and completely harden the white house complex in addition to the many other critical missions for the usss the white house told politifact that the ballroom would still be funded by private donations can taxpayer funded security features be separated from ballroom construction an architectural expert told politifact that separating security features allowed under the legislation from the ballroom would be tricky security measures must be integrated into the structure and envelope of the building said sara bronin an architect and a law professor at the george washington university law school unless congress places clear constraints on the way this money will be spent taxpayers may end up footing most of the bill steven smith an arizona state university political scientist who studies congress said lawmakers have tools to scrutinize spending including holding hearings that demand detailed plans and aggressive oversight of all project contracts and developments the question is whether congress especially under the control of republicans who are reluctant to rein in trump is willing to exercise oversight we have already learned from the president s sleight of hand in juggling money to bring airport security workers back to work that to him all federally appropriated funds are fungible and can be used for whatever he wants said donald wolfensberger a former staff director of the house rules committee politifact ruling kaptur said republicans want you to pay 1 billion for a ballroom the republican proposal said funds are only for security upgrades at the east wing modernization project which includes the ballroom it s unclear how much of the 1 billion would go explicitly toward the ballroom the bill said non security elements cannot be funded through the bill but experts said it s hard to designate project features as purely for security or purely for construction for example the trump administration has said the ballroom would have missile resistant steel columns and ballistic and blast proof glass we rate the statement mostly true 2026 copyright capitol broadcasting company