Seven Republican Senators joined Democrats in an attempt to block President Donald Trump’s White House ballroom project.
Sponsored by Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon, the amendment was introduced during a “vote-a-rama” tied to the Republicans’ reconciliation package to fund immigration enforcement agencies until the end of Trump’s term.
The motion sought to prohibit funding of the new ballroom from either federal funds or private donations without congressional authorization.
“There is a plan to construct a billion-dollar ballroom, gold plated, without any action by Congress to authorize it,” Merkley said on the Senate floor. “This amendment is very simple, it says that congressional authorization is needed to proceed.”
The measure failed to reach the 60 votes required for passage, falling short with a 53-46 count.
But in a reminder that concern about the expensive project is spanning across party aisles, seven Republican Senators voted in favor of the amendment.
Susan Collins of Maine, Jon Husted of Ohio, Dan Sullivan and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Jerry Moran of Kansas, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana all voted “yea.”
Collins, Husted, and Sullivan’s votes were particularly noteworthy, as all three Republicans are facing tough re-election bids later this year.
Cassidy—who lost a competitive Republican primary last month after President Donald Trump endorsed a rival candidate—initially voted against the amendment, but he later asked the chamber to change his vote.
“My intention was to vote ‘yea.’ I ask unanimous consent that I be permitted to change my vote, since it will not affect the outcome,” he said on the Senate floor.
Cassidy has previously voiced concern over the financial expenditure related to the ballroom in light of its attached $400 million price tag.
“Louisianians don't want to spend... on a ballroom. I just came off the campaign trail. I mean, gas, groceries, health care—they just cannot afford it,” he said on May 19, referencing the affordability crisis in America.
The ballroom has been the source of much debate since Trump had the East Wing of the White House demolished last year to make room for the grandiose design.
The Senate early Friday voted to advance the immigration spending bill after Republicans removed the inclusion to allocate $1 billion in security additions for the White House and ballroom.
The move came after the proposal sparked backlash, especially as Trump had said the ballroom would be funded by private donations.
“They should have never conflated the other legitimate Secret Service needs, because it’s just giving everybody the ‘billion dollar ballroom’ and it’s just a bad idea,” Tillis said last month when it became clear that Senate Republicans would be unlikely to get the votes to fund the ballroom.
Collins has expressed similar discontent over the funding suggestion, arguing: “The President has said that the new ballroom is going to be financed privately. He should keep to that commitment.”
This discord was further compounded by Senate parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough’s opposition on May 16, during which she ruled against including funds for the White House ballroom as part of the party’s budget reconciliation bill.
Trump holds photos of the planned ballroom during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C. on Oct. 22, 2025. —Salwan Georges/The Washington Post—Getty ImagesTrump has argued that the ballroom is necessary for security reasons, citing the shooting incident at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in April and a gunman who opened fire at a White House security checkpoint in May as evidence of his point.
But the legal challenges are ongoing.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation, a nonprofit organization that works to protect significant American sites, sued the Trump Administration last year after the East Wing was demolished to make way for the building.
In March, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon ordered for construction of the ballroom to be stopped until congressional approval had been sought and granted.
After an appeals court urged him to consider the national security implications, given Trump’s argument, the Administration was told in April that they could proceed with below-ground construction on the condition “that any such construction will not lock in the above-ground size and scale of the ballroom.”
On Friday, a three-judge federal appeals court panel gathered to hear arguments from the Trump Administration as to why construction should be allowed to move ahead in totality.
Hours beforehand, Trump said “the ballroom is coming along fantastically well. It’s on time, and under budget.”
Arguing once more that the building is “desperately needed,” he claimed the legal action against the project has “absolutely no standing.”
Outside of the ballroom, Trump’s renovation projects tied to the White House and the general Washington area continue to draw scrutiny.
Last week, House Democrats moved to introduce a bill aimed at blocking the construction of his planned 250-ft triumphal arch, with one lawmaker arguing: “Trump’s vanity project would waste taxpayer money, brazenly violate existing law, and become yet another vehicle for his corruption.”
Trump’s mission to make ”the reflecting pool beautiful again” has raised similar concerns, as has the construction of a UFC cage-fighting arena being built on the White House lawn ahead of a fighting event to mark America’s 250th birthday.
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