Senate Republicans propose package including $1bn that could go to Trump ballroom

Senate Republicans have released a new immigration enforcement funding package that includes a proposed $1bn that could go to security measures related to the $400m ballroom that is part of Donald Trump ’s “East Wing modernization project”. Senator Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican who chairs the Senate judiciary committee, released the funding plan on Monday, as part of a wider bill the Republican party plans to pass along party lines to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other agencies involved in the Trump administration’s mass deportation efforts. While the measure does not explicitly mention the president’s proposed new ballroom, it proposes that $1bn be appropriated for “the purposes of security adjustments and upgrades, including within the perimeter fence of the White House Compound to support enhancements by the United States Secret Service relating to the East Wing Modernization Project, including above-ground and below-ground security features”. “None of the funds made available under this section may be used for non-security elements of the East Wing Modernization Project,” it adds. The “ East Wing modernization project ” is the name of the Trump administration ’s plan to rebuild the East Wing, which was demolished last year to make space for the ballroom. …