The Secret Service on Tuesday pushed back on the growing narrative that Congress is writing a billion-dollar check to renovate the White House, laying out a detailed breakdown of how that money would actually be spent.
Of the $1 billion the agency is requesting, $220 million is designated for security hardening tied to the East Wing Modernization Project, the formal name for the construction that includes a new 22,000-square-foot ballroom and first lady’s office suite. The other $780 million covers a range of unrelated security priorities.
“Importantly, as the legislative text makes explicit, none of these funds will be used to support non-security improvements at the White House,” the Secret Service said in a spending justification obtained by The Washington Times.
The $1 billion is tucked into a $72 billion budget reconciliation package Senate Republicans are advancing, a bill primarily designed to fund immigration enforcement agencies. It bypasses the Senate filibuster threshold.
President Trump has said the ballroom project itself will cost roughly $400 million and will be paid for with private donations. The Secret Service request covers only the security infrastructure surrounding that project, including bulletproof glass, drone detection technologies, and chemical and threat filtration systems.
Secret Service Director Sean Curran attended the Senate Republicans’ weekly conference lunch Tuesday to explain the request directly to members. Not all senators came away satisfied.
“If I were a businessman and an employee came and said, ‘I have a project and it’s a billion dollars,’ I’d say, ‘You made that number up, right?'” said Sen. John Curtis, Republican of Utah. “Where did the number come from? I want to see data, if it’s really for extra security.”
The agency broke its request into six categories: $220 million for the East Wing security hardening, $180 million for a new White House visitor screening facility, $175 million for agent training and updated training facilities, $175 million to improve security for protectees at high-visibility public venues, $150 million for the Special Operations Division to counter drones, airspace threats, and unmanned systems, and $100 million in additional allocations.
Senate Republicans are expected to continue debating the reconciliation package in the coming days. No final vote has been scheduled.
