'America needs a new president': Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta slams President Trump's ballroom project

Questioning President Donald Trump's White House ballroom project, Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta called for the President's removal. Taking to X, he claimed that America did not require a new ballroom, but rather, a new president. The ballroom project has drawn the ire of Democrats for weeks now, especially after Republicans slipped a $1 billion allocation for security upgrades to the White House East Wing reconstruction project. The bill, however, hit a major procedural roadblock after the Senate parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough, ruled that the $1 billion security allocation did not comply with budget reconciliation rules.

Democrats, meanwhile, have continued to attack the President over the security infrastructure project, particularly over the current high inflation rates. Sen. Tammy Duckworth wrote in an X post that there was no money for healthcare or daycare, and that gas prices were not coming down. "But Republicans do think taxpayers should put $1 billion toward Trump's golden ballroom. And shell out another $70 billion for ICE and Border Patrol. These people are out of touch," she added. Some Republican lawmakers have also questioned the President's priorities over the ballroom project.

The most vocal among them is Rep. Thomas Massie, who is set to face a Republican primary election for the fourth congressional district of Kentucky against Trump-endorsed Ed Gallrein on Tuesday. Speaking in an interview with ABC, he said that he would vote against the bill, which would use the billion dollars for the White House. "No, I don't think we should…We were originally told the president's friends were gonna pay for this ballroom," he said.

The ICE and Border Patrol funding bill will be up for a vote in the Senate on Thursday, as per a report by The Hill. After MacDonough set things back for the GOP, ruling that the bill violated the Senate's Byrd Rule and could not pass with a simple majority, it would now need 60 votes to go to the House.

Republicans are busy redrafting the bill to ensure that it passes with a simple majority. However, Senate Democrats are adamant about restricting any kind of funding that could find its way to the White House ballroom project. The bigger worry for the GOP is that some Republicans may not vote for it either. Several Senate Republicans have informed Senate Majority Leader John Thune that they did not intend to vote to approve $1 billion for Trump’s 90,000-square-foot ballroom.

"There's a lot of discomfort because of the amount of money, and it came up out of the blue, and it was supposed to be privately funded," a GOP Senator said. "Those are the kinds of questions people are asking. If it gets 'Byrded' out, I don't think some people are going to cry about it."