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Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif.), a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee, is seeking to bar Pentagon funds from being used for the construction of President Trump’s White House ballroom.
Garamendi will introduce a floor amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to fully restrict at least $150 million in military funds to be spent on the ballroom on the site of the former East Wing, which was demolished last year.
“Defense dollars should be spent on our service members, military families, readiness, shipbuilding and replenishing critical munitions—not on a White House ballroom,” Garamendi told The Hill on Tuesday. “If the President wants to expand the White House, he should find another funding source. Military dollars should be used for our military. I urge the Committee to make this amendment in order.”
A group of House conservative hardliners and some moderate GOP lawmakers blocked a procedural rule on Tuesday that included language that would have merged the SAVE America Act with the NDAA to send the measure to the Senate in one piece through a special procedure known as MIRVing. The House voted 198-224 to reject the rule, with 14 Republicans joining Democrats in opposing the measure.
House leadership canceled votes for the rest of the week, kicking off their July 4th recess early amid the NDAA discord.
Back in October, Trump said the military would be involved in the construction of the ballroom.
“We’re also working with the military on it because they want to make sure everything is perfect,” the president told reporters at the time. “And the military is very much involved in this. They want to make sure everything is absolutely beautiful.”
The reconstruction is expected to run around $600 million and include a ballroom that could host up to 1,000 guests, with a drone port on top and a military facility underneath, Trump has said.
The White House has pushed ahead with the project despite lawsuits to halt the effort, arguing it is essential for security reasons. Trump has said the reconstruction would not be funded by taxpayers, and, last month, the president asked for $1 billion from Congress for security upgrades regarding the ballroom.
Last year, the White House gave a no-bid contract worth up to $500 million to Virginia-based Clark Construction for the construction of the East Wing ballroom, The Washington Post reported on Tuesday.
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