Senate parliamentarian rules against Trump’s White House ballroom funding in budget bill

The Senate parliamentarian late Saturday ruled against the $1 billion provision intended to fund President Trump’s White House ballroom in the budget reconciliation package.

The guidance, according to Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) who serves as the ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee, states that “a project as complex and large in scale as Trump’s proposed ballroom necessarily involves the coordination of many government agencies which span the jurisdiction of many Senate committees,” adding that the funding provision is outside the scope of the Judiciary panel

Earlier this month, the Senate Judiciary Committee as well as the upper chamber’s Homeland Security Committe included funding for the new complex in a budget reconciliation bill for federal immigration enforcement.

According to Merkley, Elizabeth MacDonough, the nonpartisan Senate parliamentarian, said that the ballroom funds violated the Byrd Rule — a strict Senate procedure that prevents........

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