White House Ballroom Authorization Hits Snag in Senate
Senate Parliamentarian rules $1 billion Judiciary provision violates Byrd Rule; administration officials say provision was flawed anyway
After a federal judge halted construction on the White House ballroom by finding that it lacked congressional authorization, Republicans are seeking to provide authorization through a provision in the reconciliation bill. The Senate Judiciary Committee’s initial reconciliation text included $1 billion for “security adjustments and upgrades” “relating to the East Wing Modernization Project.”
That provision, however, included a disclaimer stating that “none of the funds made available under this section may be used for non-security elements of the East Wing Modernization Project.” Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley denied that the funding was ballroom-related, telling a reporter “when you use that word [ballroom], I can tell you haven’t read the bill.” Despite the declaimer and denial, the provision was widely viewed on Capitol Hill as a potential authorization vehicle for the project.
That effort ran into a major obstacle this weekend when Democrats on the Senate Budget Committee announced that the Senate Parliamentarian ruled that the $1 billion Judiciary provision violated the Byrd Rule because it “funds activities outside the jurisdiction of the Judiciary Committee.” According to the Democrats’ press release, “a project as complex and large in scale as Trump’s proposed ballroom necessarily involves the coordination of many government agencies which span the jurisdiction of many Senate committees.”
Some administration officials expressed concerns about the Judiciary Committee language even before the Parliamentarian issued her ruling. An administration source told the Washington Dispatch that the Judiciary Committee’s text limiting funding to “security adjustments and upgrades” was “unhelpful.” “We’d just end up back in court with Judge Leon haggling over whether the ‘security upgrade’ language authorizes ballroom construction,” the official said. “We’d be right back at square one even if this one snuck past the Parliamentarian.”
