Senate Republicans demand answers on $1B Secret Service funding request

Senate Republicans are struggling to agree to a stunning funding request that, in part, would pay for security upgrades to President Donald Trump’s ballroom.

Republicans in the Upper House still aren’t entirely on board with a $1 billion request from the Trump administration and the Secret Service embedded in their immigration funding package, and many are wondering how exactly that figure was created.

“It was one thing when private money was building it,” said Sen. John Curtis, R-Utah. “If you ask me for a billion dollars, I have some very difficult questions. If I was a businessman and an employee came and said, ‘I have a project, and it’s a billion dollars,’ I would say, ‘You made that number up,’ right? Where did that number come from?”

Once seen as privately funded, Republicans are sneaking taxpayer dollars into Trump’s ballroom project.

President Donald Trump presents a rendering of the planned expansion of the White House Ballroom during a meeting in the Oval Office with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte October 22, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Aaron Schwartz/CNP/Bloomberg)

Curtis’ skepticism emerged as Republicans headed into a closed-door briefing at the request of Secret Service Director Sean Curran, who provided a high-level breakdown of the funding in a page obtained by Fox News Digital.

Curran’s explanation wasn’t enough for several Republicans, who left the meeting still wanting more detailed information about exactly how the funding, part of the broader reconciliation plan for immigration enforcement, would be used.

“They need to go back and give us more details on exactly how they arrived at that number,” Sen. Todd Young, R-Neb., said afterward.

Curran presented lawmakers with a detailed outline of how the money would be spent, which included $220 million for “strengthening the White House complex.”

TRUMP ADMIN DEFENDS WHITE HOUSE BALLROOM AS AN ISSUE OF NATIONAL SECURITY

Sen. Rick Scott, Republican of Florida, speaks to reporters as he arrives at the U.S. Capitol for a vote on January 6, 2026. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)

This category, like legislation released by the Senate Judiciary Committee last week, dictated that the funding would pay for “above and below ground” security upgrades for the Trump Ballroom, which the administration said would “provide necessary protection for the President, his family, and visitors, as well as higher-level underground security functions.”

These improvements would include bulletproof glass, drone detection technology, filtration and chemical detection systems and “a host of other national security features.”

Another $180 million would be spent on a visitor control center at the White House. The remaining $600 million would be spent on Secret Service training, increased protection for Trump and other officials, and other security measures, including combating drones and other aerial incursions.

“What was clear today was this whole statement: ‘It’s a billion dollars for a ballroom.’ Anyone who prints this is printing something they know to be a lie. That’s not true,” Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., told Fox News Digital. “It’s not a billion dollars for the ballroom.”

Not all of the funding will go exclusively to beefing up security at Trump’s colossal ballroom. So Republicans want more answers about how each dollar will be used.

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Sen. John Curtis, Republican of Utah, said he wanted more answers about the Trump administration’s funding request. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

And they recognize that price tag is a tough sell amid growing economic problems across the country.

“The way I see him, I see him as a businessman,” Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., told Fox News Digital. “So it’s an investment, and you’re going to have to explain to the American public if you spend their money, how do you get a return?”

Scott, like several other Republicans, favors beefing up security for Trump, who faced a third assassination attempt last month, and future presidents.

And there is an opportunity to reduce demand, which some Republicans have suggested as an option as they rush to finish work on the broader $72 billion plan.

“We want to make sure we’re responsible with the taxpayer dollars and see what the best vehicle is for that, and then make sure we’re being judicious with that money,” Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., told Fox News Digital.

Meanwhile, the funding request is just one small piece of a larger package intended to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Border Patrol for the next three and a half years through the budget reconciliation process.

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Whether ballroom security and Secret Service funding actually remains in the package is an open question, given that the entire package will be reviewed under strict Senate Byrd Rule guidelines that dictate what can and cannot be included in the reconciliation process.

And Democrats plan to lobby against security funding, arguing the money would be better spent elsewhere over affordability concerns.

“At the end of the day, this ballroom is a disgrace,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.. “The Republicans know that. Let’s see if they have the courage to do what they know is right, both substantively and politically, and tell Trump that we don’t need God, we don’t need a damn ballroom.”