U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer is accusing Republicans of prioritizing President Donald Trump’s “gilded ballroom” over working families after congressional Republicans advanced a proposal that could direct $1 billion in taxpayer funding toward security upgrades connected to the controversial White House project.
Schumer released a lengthy report Wednesday arguing the same $1 billion could instead be used to reduce costs for New Yorkers struggling with childcare, groceries, utility bills, healthcare and college tuition.
The dispute centers on Trump’s ongoing White House ballroom project, which the president repeatedly described as privately funded. According to reporting by NBC News, a Republican-backed immigration and border funding package introduced by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley includes $1 billion earmarked for security upgrades tied to the ballroom and East Wing modernization project.
Trump previously told reporters “not one penny” of federal money would be used for the ballroom project. But the proposed legislation would fund expanded Secret Service security infrastructure, including above- and below-ground security features around the White House compound.
Schumer called the proposal “a staggering waste of taxpayer dollars” and argued Republicans were focusing on “Trump’s chandelier over New Yorkers’ childcare” and “Trump’s palace over the people’s priorities.”
In the report, Schumer outlined a series of alternative uses for the funding, including extending Affordable Care Act tax credits, restoring SNAP benefits, subsidizing childcare costs and helping families cover heating bills through LIHEAP.
Among the examples cited by Schumer:
• $1 billion could cut childcare costs in half for nearly 100,000 New York infants for a year.
• The funding could help all 1.67 million New York LIHEAP recipients pay heating or cooling costs for more than two years.
• It could provide $30,000 in relief to every farm in New York state.
NBC News reported the White House has defended the proposal by pointing to heightened security concerns after last month’s shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner and ongoing threats against the president. Court filings from the administration reportedly describe the project as “vital” to presidential security and say the structure will include hardened materials capable of withstanding drone attacks, along with underground medical and bomb shelter facilities.
The ballroom project has also become the subject of legal challenges over whether the administration moved forward without congressional approval. A federal appeals court is expected to hear arguments next month.
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