Watch All Shows Victor Davis Hanson Tony Kinnett Daily Signal Signal Sitdown

Watch All Shows Victor Davis Hanson Tony Kinnett Daily Signal Signal Sitdown

Home – Congressional & Capitol Hill News – Senate Tussles Over Ballroom Security Funding

Senate Tussles Over Ballroom Security Funding

A Senate referee struck funding for security at the White House’s East Wing from a Republican budget bill on Saturday, in what Democrats are celebrating as a blow to President Donald Trump’s ballroom ambitions. Republicans, however, argue the security funding is unrelated to the White House ballroom, and will soon be restored.

Republicans are attempting to pass a budget reconciliation bill to inject billions in funding for border and immigration enforcement without needing any Democrat votes in the Senate.

The push comes after the longest government shutdown in history of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in which Democrats withheld support for funding the agency, demanding major restraints on immigration enforcement operations.

Under the reconciliation process, the Senate’s “Byrd rule” forbids provisions that are too narrowly targeted or are more policy-oriented than they are budgetary. The rule also blocks committees from providing funding to agencies outside their jurisdiction.

The Senate’s parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough—essentially the chamber’s umpire—settles these disputes.

The Republicans’ proposals included $1 billion for Secret Service security upgrades, some of which would be inside the “White House Compound to support enhancements … relating to the East Wing........

© The Daily Signal