The Trump administration has quietly redirected $352 million in federal funds originally set aside for the Secret Service toward the construction of a new White House ballroom, according to a report by The Guardian.
The money came from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Trump‘s signature tax legislation that passed last summer with only Republican votes. The law is explicit about how the funds can be used: Secret Service personnel, training facilities, technology, and related operational costs. Construction is not on that list.
Yet records from the Office of Management and Budget database reportedly show that on June 12, approximately $340.8 million was moved into an account labeled “Procurement, Construction, and Improvements.” A second account labeled “Operations and Support” received an additional $10.75 million the same day, The Guardian reported.
Trump Promised No Taxpayer Money
The redirection of these funds is significant because of what Trump himself has said about the project on multiple occasions.
When the ballroom was first announced in July 2025, with an estimated price tag of $200 million, Trump described it as “a private thing.” By late March of this year, with the cost estimate having doubled to $400 million, Trump was still insisting the project would not cost taxpayers a single cent.
“This is taxpayer-free. We have no taxpayer putting up 10 cents,” he said at the time.
Those assurances now face serious scrutiny.
Congress Already Said No
The move came shortly after Congress explicitly rejected a White House request for $1 billion to fund what the administration officially calls the “East Wing Modernization Project,” a 90,000-square-foot ballroom being constructed on the site of the White House’s demolished East Wing.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle turned down that request. The administration then appeared to find another route to secure funding, one that did not require congressional approval.
The White House’s Argument
A White House spokesperson, Davis Ingle, pushed back on the framing, arguing the funds were necessary for genuine security upgrades rather than construction costs.
“The East Wing Modernization Project is inextricably tied to the security of the president, the White House grounds and certain security infrastructure assets,” Ingle said.
He pointed to a recently disrupted plot targeting Sunday’s UFC Freedom 250 event on the White House south lawn as evidence of why security-linked construction is needed. The project, he said, includes drone-proof structures and drone ports among other protective features.
“President Trump and generous American patriots are funding the ballroom to the tune of approximately $400 million, which will be a secure and appropriate venue for presidents for generations to come,” Ingle added.
Lawmakers Are Not Buying It
Several members of Congress, including Republicans, expressed serious concern after the funding move came to light.
Senator Thom Tillis, a Republican from North Carolina who is set to retire at the end of the year, told the outlet Notus that the situation did not look right.
“That’s a big problem,” Tillis said. “That sounds like a different way to fund the East Wing project. On its face it doesn’t sound right.”
Democratic Senator Brian Schatz of Hawaii, who sits on the appropriations committee, was similarly skeptical. “I don’t know whether it’s the ballroom, but it sounds like the ballroom,” he told Notus.
A Controversy That Keeps Growing
This is not the first time questions have been raised about who is actually footing the bill for the project. The cost estimate alone has already gone from $200 million when it was announced in July 2025 to $400 million today. The original East Wing was demolished in October 2025 to make way for the new structure.
The latest development adds a new layer to the ongoing debate. If federal funds restricted by law to Secret Service operations are being used for construction, the administration may be spending money in a way that goes directly against the legislation that authorized it.