Cassidy Vows to Block $1 Billion White House Ballroom Funding After Finishing Third in Louisiana Primary
Updated
Updated · The Daily Beast · May 21
Cassidy Vows to Block $1 Billion White House Ballroom Funding After Finishing Third in Louisiana Primary
13 articles · Updated · The Daily Beast · May 21
Bill Cassidy said he will vote against federal funding for Donald Trump’s proposed $1 billion White House ballroom after losing Louisiana’s primary, where Trump-backed Julia Letlow led with 45% and Cassidy finished third.
Cassidy said the request lacks basic support—no architectural plans, environmental reviews or engineering—and questioned how the project’s estimated cost climbed from $100 million to $1 billion.
Trump’s allies inserted the funding into a budget reconciliation package tied to immigration enforcement through 2029, but Cassidy said spending on the project would insult taxpayers facing high gas, grocery and healthcare costs.
Trump has recast the 90,000-square-foot ballroom as part of a security project, calling it a military complex with a subterranean bunker and a roof that would serve as a drone port.
Senators Rand Paul, Thom Tillis, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski have also voiced skepticism, adding to opposition around a project Trump once said would be privately funded with $350 million from donors.
What justifies the project's tenfold cost increase to $1 billion while its architectural plans remain undisclosed?