From historic office space to construction crater: The demolition of the East Wing (left, Oct. 2025) makes way for a multi-million dollar ballroom (right) that officials now want taxpayers to fund. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin; White House Rendering)
Your tax dollars are being used to build a ballroom where you will never be invited, effectively forcing you to underwrite a billionaire’s vanity project while your own priorities go ignored.
By Gina Hill | Alaska Headline Living | May 5, 2026
President Trump promised the White House ballroom would be built “at no cost to the American taxpayer,” financed entirely through private donations from “generous patriots.” Now, Senate Republican leadership, led by Majority Leader John Thune, Whip John Barrasso, and Conference Chair Tom Cotton, is trying to slip $1 BILLION in taxpayer money into a federal spending bill for “security upgrades” to the White House East Wing. It’s a setup. That money is tied to the controversial ballroom construction project, and they are trying to bundle it into an immigration bill to bypass the usual oversight.
Don’t let them hide this under a “security” label to fund this waste. Our delegation needs to hear from us immediately.
How to Take Action:
- Call the Washington, DC offices of your members of Congress today. Senate and House staffers track constituent sentiment closely when legislative packages are being finalized. They are trying to fast-track this, and we have only a few days to create enough public backlash to force a change.
- Senator Lisa Murkowski: 202-224-6665
- Senator Dan Sullivan: 202-224-3004
- Congressman Nick Begich: 202-225-5765
- Demand a public vote and full transparency. Tell your representatives that you oppose the inclusion of the $1 billion Secret Service funding for the East Wing Modernization Project in any broader spending or immigration bill. Use this script:
“I’m an Alaska constituent, and I strongly oppose the $1 billion appropriation in the current spending package for Secret Service ‘security upgrades’ at the White House. This money is clearly intended to subsidize the East Wing ballroom project, which was promised to be privately funded. Do not use taxpayer money for this vanity project. I urge you to vote ‘No’ on any bill containing this funding and to demand full transparency.” - Submit written objections through the official contact forms on your senators’ and representative’s websites to ensure your formal opposition is on the record.
- Spread the information. Share the bill language and explain that the funding is being masked as “security” money to hide its true purpose of subsidizing a ballroom project that was originally promised to be privately funded. If we stay silent, they’ll bury it in the bill.
Current Status: The bill has not been passed, but Republican leadership is aiming to finalize it for a floor vote by mid-May 2026. Because they are leveraging the reconciliation process to bypass democratic hurdles, we have an incredibly tight window to make our opposition loud enough to stop them before the bill is solidified for a vote.
