Trump says he doesn’t know if he’s ‘losing control of the Senate’ after pushback over $1B for ballroom security

President Donald Trump told reporters on Thursday that he does not know if he’s lost his grip on the Republican Senate majority as senators prepare to advance a border security funding bill without the $1 billion he has demanded to fund parts of his controversial White House ballroom.

Asked whether he’s losing control of a Senate majority that has until now been remarkably deferential at the expense of their own authority during an Oval Office appearance with grocery executives and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, Trump replied: “I really don't know. I can tell you, I only do what's right.”

”I don't need money for the ballroom,” he continued, adding that the idea that any taxpayer dollars are needed for the project “the biggest misreporting that I've ever seen.”

“It's being done in conjunction with the military, and with the very much in conjunction with the military and Secret Service. We're on time, on budget. It's going beautifully. Have all the money I need,” he said.

He then attempted to distinguish the $1 billion in requested taxpayer funds for the project from the millions he claims to have raised from private donors for the massive facility, which will dwarf the White House and West Wing when completed.

“The money that they're spending is for security, having to do maybe around the ballroom and other parts of the house, but this is not for the ballroom,” he said.

“We're building what will be the finest ballroom anywhere in the world. If they want to spend money on securing the White House, I think it would be very, very much a good expenditure, but the ballroom is being built.”

When pressed on what would happen if senators reject the request to add the ballroom funding to the border bill, Trump replied: “Then the White House won't be a very secure place.”

The president’s comments came as senators were poised to reject his request for $1 billion in funding for what the White House has described as security upgrades to the ballroom and the cavernous underground facility being constructed beneath the site where the East Wing stood until Trump ordered it demolished last fall.

Members of the president’s own party have balked the timing and the lack of detailed justification for the request, which was made by Secret Service Director Sean Curran in the wake of last month’s attempted assassination of the president at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

The proposal faced immediate criticism from several GOP members who raised concerns about the cost and the allocation of taxpayer dollars, including Senators Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, Thom Tillis R-N.C. and Bill Cassidy, R-La.

Tillis, who is returning from the Senate after this year, called the request “a bad idea” and suggested to reporters that even a smaller amount would be unlikely to pass.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune also acknowledged "ongoing vote issues" to reporters as leaders gauged Republican support, alongside "ongoing parliamentarian issues" regarding what can be included under chamber rules.

While the bill’s text has not yet been released, the Senate aims to pass it this week before the Memorial Day recess.

With additional reporting by agencies

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