05/28/2026
Following White House Shooting And Correspondents Dinner Assassination Attempts, It’s Time Fund The Ballroom https://dailytorch.com/2026/05/following-white-house-shooting-and-correspondents-dinner-assassination-attempts-its-time-fund-the-ballroom/
On May 16, Senate parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough blocked $1 billion for the Secret Service for additional security at the White House that included upgrades to the White House East Wing and construction of the White House Ballroom so that presidents have a secure location to host large gathering events from an upcoming budget reconciliation bill. According to the guidance, “This section provides $1 billion to the U.S. Secret Service for the ballroom project in the East Wing of the White House. 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. As drafted, the provision inappropriately funds activities outside the jurisdiction of the Judiciary Committee.” Here MacDonough is relying on 2 U.S. Code Sec. 644(b)(1)(A) that makes matters “extraneous”: “a provision that is not in the jurisdiction of the committee with jurisdiction over said title or provision shall be considered extraneous.” That, despite the fact that the Senate Judiciary Committee does have jurisdiction of the Secret Service. Under the ruling, the Senate can fund tens of billions of dollars for hundreds of miles of border walls on the U.S. southern border, but in principle could not build a fence around the White House on budget reconciliation. Then, Senate Republican leaders removed the provision on May 20, rather than do anything bold like overrule the parliamentarian or remove her despite calls from President Donald Trump to do so the same day. Senate Democrats and the parliamentarian apparently want the current president and future presidents to be at large in Washington, D.C., at the U.S. Capitol, the Hilton or Ford’s Theater — the sites of attempted and actual presidential assassinations. At this point, the partisan food fight against President Trump making improvements in Washington, D.C. including the ballroom is endangering the President. Senate Republicans have the votes to just override the parliamentarian or fire her — and do what is necessary to protect the President. No more excuses. After two assassination attempts in a month, enough is enough. What do you think?
By Robert Romano On May 16, Senate parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough blocked $1 billion for the Secret Service for additional security at the White House that included upgrades to the White House East Wing and construction of the White House Ballroom so that presidents have a secure location [......
