Grand Theft America / Receipt power-2026-06-12-137
The administration moves $352m of Secret Service money to the White House ballroom
The Trump administration redirected $352m in federal funds designated for the Secret Service toward the White House ballroom project, placing about $340.8m into an account labelled 'Procurement, Construction, and Improvements' and a further $10.75m into an account labelled 'Operations and Support' on 12 June 2026.
What happened
The funds were drawn from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which the Guardian reports stipulates the money may only be spent on Secret Service personnel, training facilities, technology and related costs, not construction. The transfers appear in the Office of Management and Budget database. The move came after Congress explicitly refused to provide $1bn for the 'East Wing Modernization Project', the administration's official name for the 90,000-square-foot ballroom being built on the site of the demolished East Wing. White House spokesperson Davis Ingle said the project is inextricably tied to the security of the president and the White House grounds.
Why it matters
Congress refused the money for this project by name, and the transfer routes federal funds to it anyway out of Secret Service money the One Big Beautiful Bill Act restricts to personnel, training facilities, technology and related costs rather than construction. Senator Thom Tillis, a Republican, told Notus the transfer 'sounds like a different way to fund the East Wing project' and that on its face it does not sound right.
Receipt details
- Phase 5
- Lock in power
- Rule by decree under a permanent emergency
