WASHINGTON (AURN News) — Republicans on Capitol Hill are moving quickly, using Saturday’s shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner to push funding for President Donald Trump’s controversial White House ballroom.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., is introducing a bill with Sens. Katie Britt, R-Ala., and Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., seeking $400 million in taxpayer funding to build it.
But his Republican colleague, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., introduced a competing bill the same day, saying private donors should pay for it, not the American people.
The contradiction is hard to ignore, and Trump has repeatedly said the ballroom would cost taxpayers nothing. Graham’s bill contradicts that claim.
Republicans are split. Democrats are opposed, and the bill needs 60 votes to pass the Senate — votes it does not have.
Public Citizen is calling it a “ballroom for billionaires,” demanding hearings and seeking to know who the anonymous donors are funding the project.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., has criticized the project as a vanity project tied to what he described as the illegal demolition of the White House East Wing.
Click play to listen to the report from AURN White House Correspondent Ebony McMorris. For more news, follow @E_N_McMorris & @aurnonline.
