Blumenthal Demands Answers After Trump Administration Redirects Taxpayer Dollars to Fund White House Ballroom Project

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Ranking Member of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI), today demanded answers from U.S. Secret Service Director Sean Curran about the redirection of Congressionally appropriated taxpayer dollars to fund the construction of President Donald Trump's White House Ballroom. In a letter sent today, Blumenthal requested documents and information regarding the Secret Service's diversion of $1.17 billion that was intended to be used for Secret Service operations.

"Diversion of this major appropriation amount from its intended and explicitly directed purposes seems to exceed your legal authority and violate statutory limits. These funds were appropriated by Congress to provide the Secret Service the resources and tools needed to keep those under the agency's protection safe," Blumenthal wrote.

Blumenthal continued, "President Trump has repeatedly insisted that construction costs would be paid by private donors and himself personally, at no cost to the taxpayers. Recent reporting, however, indicates that the cost of constructing the ballroom is much more expensive than the American people were led to believe, and they will be responsible for hundreds of millions of dollars to pay for it. Indeed, we now know that, at the very same time President Trump promised the American people that the project would be paid for '100 percent by me and some friends of mine,' the Administration privately planned for taxpayers to fund half of the costs of a project that was recently estimated to cost $600 million, triple the President's original estimate."

"The ever-increasing scale of the White House Ballroom project, together with the Administration's lack of transparency about it has only made it more critical that Congress ensure that taxpayer money intended for Secret Service protection operations is not diverted to ballroom construction. This is clearly not how Congress intended this money to be spent. Indeed, Congress rejected the Administration's request for $1 billion to fund the ballroom project in the most recent budget reconciliation process, reinforcing Congress's intention that Secret Service funds not be utilized for this purpose," Blumenthal concluded.

The full text of Blumenthal's letter to Director Curran is available here and below.

Dear Director Curran,

I write regarding recent disclosures by the Office of Management and Budget indicating that funds appropriated by Congress to the Secret Service may have been redirected to fund construction of a White House Ballroom on the site of the former East Wing of the White House.^[1] Diversion of this major appropriation amount from its intended and explicitly directed purposes seems to exceed your legal authority and violate statutory limits. These funds were appropriated by Congress to provide the Secret Service the resources and tools needed to keep those under the agency's protection safe. The Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations ("the Subcommittee") is conducting an inquiry into the construction of the White House Ballroom and the waste, fraud, and abuse associated with this project. Accordingly, I am requesting documents and information regarding the Secret Service's redirection of these funds.

In July 2025, as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Congress appropriated an additional $1.17 billion in funding for Secret Service operations. In authorizing this funding, Congress directed that the funds be used solely for Secret Service resources "including personnel, training facilities, programming, and technology" as well as "performance, retention, and signing bonuses" for Secret Service personnel.^[2] The clear intent by Congress in appropriating these funds was to "repair what's broken" and "bring[] the agency up to speed" following the July 2024 assassination attempt against then-former President Trump.^[3]

President Trump has repeatedly insisted that construction costs would be paid by private donors and himself personally, at no cost to the taxpayers.^[4] Recent reporting, however, indicates that the cost of constructing the ballroom is much more expensive than the American people were led to believe, and they will be responsible for hundreds of millions of dollars to pay for it.^[5] Indeed, we now know that, at the very same time President Trump promised the American people that the project would be paid for "100 percent by me and some friends of mine," the Administration privately planned for taxpayers to fund half of the costs of a project that was recently estimated to cost $600 million, triple the President's original estimate.^[6]

It appears that a staggering $352 million in Secret Service funding that had been appropriated for agency resources and personnel has been redirected to the White House Ballroom project under the pretense of funding "White House Security Measures."^[7] The ever-increasing scale of the White House Ballroom project, together with the Administration's lack of transparency about it has only made it more critical that Congress ensure that taxpayer money intended for Secret Service protection operations is not diverted to ballroom construction.^[8] This is clearly not how Congress intended this money to be spent. Indeed, Congress rejected the Administration's request for $1 billion to fund the ballroom project in the most recent budget reconciliation process, reinforcing Congress's intention that Secret Service funds not be utilized for this purpose.

The Secret Service's protective mission is too important to be used as a smoke screen by the Administration to obscure taxpayer funding of a luxury White House Ballroom. Therefore, pursuant to Senate Rule XXV of the Standing Rules of the Senate and Senate Resolution 94 (119th Cong.), Section 12, I write to request that you provide the Subcommittee with the following information by July 3, 2026:

1. Identify the specific "White House Security Measures" funded by the $352 million in redirected agency funds recently disclosed by OMB, including any justifications identified by the agency in making this transfer of funds;
2. Explain how the "White House Security Measures" funded by these apportionments were identified and assessed by the Secret Service;
3. Identify all Secret Service facilities, technology, programming, and compensation programs that have had funding levels reduced or otherwise modified either as a direct result of or subsequent to these apportionments;
4. Identify any expenditure of Secret Service funding for "White House Security Measures" that serves as a design element, e.g. ballistic glass for external windows;
5. Explain the decision-making process that culminated in redirecting $352 million for "White House Security Measures," to include the timeline for this process;
6. Identify all personnel involved in the decision to redirect $352 million in agency funding for "White House Security Measures;
7. Outline the Secret Service's original priorities for the $1.17 billion appropriated under Sec. 100057 of Pub. L. 119-21; and
8. Identify any and all alternative sources of funding considered for the "White House Security Measures."

Please contact Subcommittee staff should you have any questions about responding to this request. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

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