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Numbers of the Day May 11, 2026 · 10:04 pm ET Source: NBC News Politics

$1 Billion in Taxpayer Money for Trump's Ballroom

$1,000,000,000
embedded in a $72B Republican border-security bill for the 'East Wing Modernization Project'

The bill never uses the word 'ballroom' — it's all 'security adjustments' around the 'East Wing Modernization Project,' the 90,000-square-foot venue Trump had built after demolishing the East Wing in October. Problem: Trump explicitly promised private funding, not taxpayer dollars. That gives Democrats a clean line of attack going into vote-a-rama: force every Republican on record. The tells are already there — Sens. Scott, Hawley, and Paul have each publicly questioned the taxpayer outlay. Collins (Maine) and Sullivan (Alaska), the two most exposed Republicans in 2026, voted with Democrats on multiple cost amendments in the last budget round. Said Schumer: "That is what today's Republicans have become: Ballroom Republicans — asking working families to pay the price while Donald Trump pockets the perks." A Washington Post/ABC poll taken April 24-28 shows 56% of Americans already opposed the demolition before they learned they might be footing the bill. Thune's floor defense? He argued Democrats are 'defund the police.' He did not mention the ballroom.

Source: NBC News Politics · link ArticleIAppropriations2026MidtermsCorruption
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