South Carolina Republican Lindsey Graham may want to…
But there ARE other things that need money, including the Homeland Spending Budget….
Graham might be making Donald happy….
But he’s not gonna have much company it appears….
Senate Republicans aren’t in the mood to vote on legislation to greenlight President Trump’s controversial plan to build a 90,000-square-foot White House ballroom, as some GOP lawmakers see it as a bad political move in the current political climate, especially if it would require taxpayer funding.
Republican senators generally support Trump’s call for the construction of a ballroom where the historic East Wing once stood, but some of them are warning that spending any taxpayer money on the project would be politically “tone-deaf.”
“Is it good politics to spend taxpayer dollars on a ballroom right before the election? Absolutely not,” said one Republican senator who requested anonymity to discuss the internal debate within the Senate GOP conference.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) told reporters Tuesday that legislation sponsored by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a close Trump ally, to authorize $400 million for the construction of a ballroom and underground security complex will have to wait — despite Graham’s pressure on the GOP leader to hold a vote immediately.
“Right now, our goal is to get DHS funded and get the reconciliation bill done as quickly as possible. We’ll have, I’m sure, that conversation with our colleagues about that,” Thune said….
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Democrats are signaling that they will oppose any legislation to build a White House ballroom.
“Absolutely not,” said Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) when asked whether she could support Graham’s bill. “At a time when Americans are struggling with the high price of gasoline — it just went up another 50 cents overnight — they’re struggling with the cost of groceries.”
“To provide $400 million for President Trump to build a ballroom?” she said. “We want our president to be able to go out and talk to real people. The idea that we would create a complex that the president would never leave is not consistent with American democracy,” she said.
Democrats say letting private donors fund the project raises concerns about special interests gaining more influence over the administration.
[Ky GOP Senator ]Paul’s proposal is broader than Sheehy’s. His bill would set up an expedited process to approve the White House ballroom and other projects by future presidents without providing any federal funding.
Paul took a shot at Graham’s proposal on social media, panning it as a “bad” bill…..
Note…
One get’s the impression that Trump has at best a 6 month window before the Midterm votes are counted and Congress changes , and slows or stops his build for the next President to decide….
Things HAVE changed for Trump after Minnesota and his Iran War….
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