Merkley, Schumer, Top Senate Democrats with Jurisdiction Over Trump’s Gilded Ballroom Boondoggle Call on Watchdog to Conduct a Full Audit of the Project

Merkley, Schumer, Top Senate Democrats with Jurisdiction Over Trump's Gilded Ballroom Boondoggle Call on Watchdog to Conduct a Full Audit of the Project

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Ranking Member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Jack Reed (R-RI), Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Gary Peters (D-MI), Ranking Member of the Senate Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee, called on the Acting Comptroller General of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to audit and assess the full scope and cost of the White House ballroom project.

After Republicans failed to gift President Trump $1 billion in federal funding through their partisan reconciliation bill in June, and although President Trump repeatedly claimed that the ballroom project and demolition of the East Wing would be privately funded, reporting shows that the Administration has inappropriately and illegally diverted more than $300 million in federal funding for the ballroom project. These Democratic Senators, through their committee leadership positions, have jurisdiction over the ballroom and the entire East Wing Modernization Project.

"Congress has neither authorized nor appropriated funding for the "East Wing Modernization Project," nor has Congress been provided any planning details or justifications that would allow for informed consideration of the White House's plans that would be a prerequisite for authorization or appropriation of funds. The lack of congressional authorization has been central to the ongoing litigation challenging the ballroom project, National Trust for Historic Preservation in the United States v. National Park Service. This month, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit affirmed that President Trump lacks the legal authority to construct a White House ballroom without congressional authorization. Simply put, no president has the authority to unilaterally demolish and remodel the country's White House in such a significant manner without congressional approval," wrote the senators.

"The Trump administration has not provided transparency into the use of federal funds for the East Wing project, and they have limited congressional oversight, meaningful public input, and adherence to established federal processes," the senators continued.

The ballroom is part of a larger White House construction project that has ballooned to at least $900 million, the majority of which would be borne by American taxpayers.

The full letter is HERE.