Tillis could derail budget bill over White House ballroom funding
One Senate Republican is threatening to derail a GOP budget reconciliation bill that would fund immigration enforcement operations for the rest of President Donald Trump’s second term. North Carolina’s Thom Tillis sent an email to his Republican colleagues, saying he will not support the $72 billion package in its current form if it reaches the Senate floor this week.
As it stands now, the package would set aside $1 billion for the Secret Service, including security upgrades to Trump’s proposed White House ballroom. According to Axios, Tillis raised concerns about not just the funding, but the timeline of the project.
Axios also reports Tillis is “still fuming” over Sen. Bill Cassidy’s loss in Louisiana’s Republican primary, and believes forcing votes this week could hurt Sen. John Cornyn ahead of his Texas runoff. Tillis has said Cornyn should be focusing on campaigning in Texas this week instead of being stuck in Washington for votes.
Tillis said the White House is pressuring the Senate by setting an “arbitrary” June 1 deadline for passing the bill.
Tillis is not alone
Tillis is not the only Republican to raise concerns over the funding package. Others, including Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski and Rand Paul have also questioned the inclusion of ballroom funding after Trump has repeatedly said the project would be funded completely by private donors.
Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough said over the weekend that the ballroom funding could not be included in the reconciliation package as it is currently written. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said it will continue to be revised until MacDonough approves it.
Republican leaders still want a vote this week, but with a narrow majority, they have little room to lose support. In his email, Tillis warned that it would be a bad idea to move quickly since the ballroom funding poses a “major policy problem.” He also likened the “airdrop” of the ballroom language into the bill to the last-minute insertion of healthcare funding cuts and policy changes in last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, The Hill reports.
For now, GOP leaders say the bill is on track to pass a committee vote on Wednesday, and they plan to bring the bill to the floor Thursday. The bill would then be subject to a vote-a-rama, giving Democrats an opportunity to offer amendments.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
