1. United States
2. Tenn.
3. Letter

Vote no on the $1 billion ballroom security provision in the Republican reconciliation bill when it reaches the Senate floor this month. President Trump promised repeatedly that his 90,000 square-foot White House ballroom would cost taxpayers nothing. He said "not one penny is being used from the federal government." That was a lie. Now Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley has slipped $1 billion into a funding bill for security enhancements tied to this vanity project. Trump demolished the historic East Wing without public input to build a party venue for foreign leaders, and now taxpayers are expected to cover the security bill while corporate donors like Comcast get the credit. We don't need a 90,000 square-foot ballroom while working families struggle with rising costs. The White House claims this is about assassination threats, but Trump sold this as a gift to the American people funded entirely by private donors. If security was always the real concern, he should have been honest about the cost from the start. Strip this provision from the bill. Let him eat KFC.