Stickin’ A Fork In It

NEWS ON THE BALLROOM -- The $1B for USSS is one of the most important things Republicans are dealing with right now.

It is the single provision that is standing in the way of ICE/CBP funding. Trump wants this on his desk by June 1. But that's all been complicated by the $1B for…

— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) May 19, 2026

NEWS ON THE BALLROOM -- The $1B for USSS is one of the most important things Republicans are dealing with right now.

It is the single provision that is standing in the way of ICE/CBP funding. Trump wants this on his desk by June 1. But that's all been complicated by the $1B for security, including Trump's ballroom.

Forget the House floor right now. it's irrelevant. all the action will begin when the Senate moves the reconciliation bill.

As @LauraEWeiss16 scooped last night, Senate is not only changing the $1B language, but they are also considering lowering the number from $1B.

Senate is engaged in a lot of Trump management right now. They know Trump wants the money but they also know that, in its current form, they cant pass it. The parliamentarian is a side show, for the most part. Because if the language ends up on the floor, it could easily come out during vote-a-rama.

And here's the real kicker: The House is even trickier. Absences and opposition will kill this provision in the House. Johnson has been warned by rank and file. This won't fly.

2/3rds of the Senate is not up for reelection, and even they don’t like this price tag. All of the House faces a very angry electorate, and the Administration is giving them this:

Reporter: The price tag for this doj fund, $1.8 billion, you have people that can't afford groceries. Gas is high. People are making sacrifices in their personal lives to accommodate for this rise in prices. People are telling us that they feel financially worse off. They're very… pic.twitter.com/JDV3P9L5hm

— Acyn (@Acyn) May 19, 2026

Reporter: The price tag for this doj fund, $1.8 billion, you have people that can't afford groceries. Gas is high. People are making sacrifices in their personal lives to accommodate for this rise in prices. People are telling us that they feel financially worse off. They're very concerned about the uncertainty. How can you justify that amount of taxpayer money for that fund when people are struggling? What do you say to Americans who wonder why this fund is getting all this money and I can't afford basic life amenities?

Vance: Thanks to Donald Trump's leadership and the working families tax cut, we put $40 billion into a rural health care fund

That ballroom is never going to be more than a hole in the ground, and a pile of semi-toxic waste on a DC golf course. It’s all but guaranteed the next Congress will vote to ban construction. 🚧  

I’m just gonna slip back in, and stick this in here.

Cassidy tells me he’s a no on WH ballroom funding as currently stands:

“They don't have a bid, they don't have engineering, they don't have architecture…They just kind of made that number up. So, from what I know now, I will not be voting for the ballroom fund.”

— Igor Bobic (@igorbobic) May 19, 2026

Is our children learning?