A number of congressional Republicans are rushing to introduce legislation to fund the building of a White House ballroom amid the fallout from the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting.
During the dinner Saturday evening, a brainwashed leftist targeting President Donald Trump’s Cabinet members opened fire next door. While the shooting hurt nobody, the dinner was subsequently cancelled.
The president later suggested on Truth Social that the dinner would have gone on undisturbed had it been held at the secure White House ballroom that he has been trying to get built since he assumed office.
“What happened last night is exactly the reason that our great Military, Secret Service, Law Enforcement and, for different reasons, every President for the last 150 years, have been DEMANDING that a large, safe, and secure Ballroom be built ON THE GROUNDS OF THE WHITE HOUSE,” he wrote.
President Trump:
What happened last night is exactly the reason that our great Military, Secret Service, Law Enforcement and, for different reasons, every President for the last 150 years, have been DEMANDING that a large, safe, and secure Ballroom be built ON THE GROUNDS OF THE… pic.twitter.com/Ehblg1K58d
— Election Wizard (@ElectionWiz) April 26, 2026
Multiple congressional Republicans have since taken up the call, including but not limited to Sens. Lindsey Graham and Rand Paul.
Graham and fellow Sens. Katie Britt and Eric Schmitt held a press conference Monday evening, unveiling a bill “to fund the construction of the presidential ballroom in the East Wing of the White House.”
“I’d like the vote as soon as possible to accelerate what America needs: A secure facility for the president and others to meet in, to have a good time, to enjoy themselves without putting the nation at risk,” Graham said at the presser.
He added that the bill would provide $400 million for the ballroom, $332 million of which would come from “customs fees” on imported goods.
Lindsey Graham says they are going introduce legislation that’s going to authorize 400 million dollars to be spent on building the ballroom: We pay for it by offsetting it with customs fees. The sooner we get the ballroom built, the better it is for the country. pic.twitter.com/aYS3Pi07gT
— Acyn (@Acyn) April 27, 2026
Paul, the chair of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, also vowed on Monday to bring forward a bill.
“I’ve reviewed the White House ballroom proposal and support moving it forward,” he wrote in a tweet. “Tomorrow, I’ll bring my bill to the floor that allows it to proceed without new taxpayer costs and make it easier for Congress to review major White House projects going forward.”
However, there has been growing pushback from some on the right, like Sen. Rick Scott, who’s said he has zero interest in paying off the ballroom with taxpayer money like Graham would like to do.
“We have $39 trillion of debt. Maybe we ought to stop spending money,” the senator told Sahil Kapur of NBC News:
Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., tells me there is no need for taxpayers to fund Trump’s ballroom. “I don’t know why you would do it, if it’s all funded” with “private money,” which he said is the way forward. “We have $39 trillion of debt. Maybe we ought to stop spending money.”
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) April 27, 2026
Then there are, of course, radical congressional Democrats like Rep. Bob Menendez who have no interest in building the ballroom because they don’t care what happens to Trump and his Cabinet.
“There’s an affordability crisis out there. No one gives a shit about the president’s ballroom except the president,” he said on Monday to a far-left media outlet known as MeidasTouch. “That’s the reality. But Republicans will do whatever they can to appease the president.”
“It will never end. And that’s why Democrats are going to retake the majority in November because people are fed up with this shit,” he added.
Rep. Menendez responds to news that Republicans want to use taxpayer money for the White House ballroom.
Menendez: There’s an affordability crisis out there. Nobody gives a shit about the ballroom except for the president. pic.twitter.com/ZtaO9gxEzH
— Acyn (@Acyn) April 27, 2026
