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You Can’t Make This Stuff Up Part CCCLIV
May 5, 2026
Posted 1 hour ago by
After all the promises that big donors would suck up to the king by paying for his ballroom, the Senators put forth the idea that the taxpayers should actually pay for it to keep the president safe. That wasn’t good enough: Senate Republicans want to provide U.S. Secret Service 1 billion for “security adjustments and upgrades” related to the construction of President Donald Trump’s planned White House ballroom.
The use of public funds would be limited to building “above-ground and below-ground security elements” only, according to the text of a reconciliation package released by Sen. Chuck Grassley, the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee. It also includes 30.7 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and 3.5 billion for Customs and Border Protection. “Republicans won’t allow our country to be dragged backwards by Democrats’ radical, anti-law enforcement agenda,” Grassley said in a statement Monday. “The Senate Judiciary Committee is taking action to help provide certainty for federal law enforcement and safer streets for American families. We will work to ensure this critical funding gets signed into law without unnecessary delay.” The committee is expected to mark up the bill next week before sending it to the full chamber, where it will likely pass via a simple-majority vote. A billion dollars. It just figures.
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