Senate Republicans are demanding answers to the Secret Service’s $1B funding request

Senate Republicans are struggling to pass an eye-watering funding request, which would, in part, fund President Donald Trump’s national security enhancements.

Republicans in the upper chamber are still not completely over the $1 billion request from the Trump administration and the Secret Service included in their immigration funding package, and many are wondering how that number was created.

“It was one thing when the private dollars were building,” said Sen. John Curtis, R-Utah. “If you ask me billions of dollars, I have really tough questions. If I were a businessman and an employee came and said, ‘I have a job, and it’s a billion dollars,’ I would say, ‘You made that number,’ right? Like, where did the number come from?”

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Curtis’ reluctance comes as Republicans head into a closed-door hearing on the request of Secret Service Director Sean Curran, who provided a high-level breakdown of the funding in one document obtained by Fox News Digital.

Curran’s explanation was not met by several Republicans, who left the meeting still seeking detailed information on how the funding, part of a reconciliation package aimed at immigration enforcement, will be spent.

“They have to go back and get us more information about how they got to this number,” said Sen. Todd Young, R-Neb., after that.

Curran presented lawmakers with a high-level explanation of how the money would be spent, including $220 million for “strengthening the White House complex.”

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Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., speaks to reporters as he arrives at the US Capitol to vote on Jan. 6, 2026. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)

That section, like legislation released by the Senate Judiciary Committee last week, determined that funding would fund “above and below ground” security enhancements for Trump’s suite, which the administration said would “provide the necessary protection for the president, his family, and guests, as well as state-of-the-art security operations.”

Those upgrades will include bulletproof glass, drone detection technology, chemical filtration and identification systems and “a host of other national security functions.”

An additional $180 million will go to the White House visitor center. The remaining $600 million will go toward training the Secret Service, improving security for Trump and other officials, and other security measures including countering drones and other air raids.

“What was clear today was this whole statement, ‘It’s a billion dollar ballroom.’ Whoever prints that is printing something they know to be false. That’s not true,” Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., told Fox News Digital. “It’s not a billion dollar ballroom.”

Not all of this funding will go toward improving security in the Trump administration, so Republicans want more answers about how each dollar will be spent.

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Sen. John Curtis, R-Utah, said he wants more answers about the Trump administration’s funding request. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

And they agree that the price tag is a tough sell amid growing economic problems across the country.

“The way I look at it, I look at it as a businessman,” Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., told Fox News Digital. “So it’s an investment, and it’s going to be, you know, you have to explain to the American public, if you’re going to spend their money, how do you get a return?”

Scott, like many other Republicans, is in favor of tightening security for Trump, who has faced a third assassination attempt in the past month, and for future presidents.

And there’s the possibility of scaling back the request, which some Republicans have suggested could be an option as they race to complete the $72 billion comprehensive job package.

“We want to make sure we’re responsible for taxpayer dollars and figure out what’s the best vehicle for that, and make sure we’re being smart with that money,” Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., told Fox News Digital.

Meanwhile, the funding request is a small part of a broader package intended to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Border Patrol for the next three and a half years through the budget reconciliation process.

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Whether the ballroom security and Secret Service funding stays in the package is an open question, given that the entire package will be reviewed under the Senate’s strict Byrd Rule guidelines that dictate what can and cannot make it into the reconciliation process.

And Democrats plan to push hard against the safety net funding, saying the money would be better spent elsewhere on issues of insolvency.

“The bottom line is this ballroom is a disgrace,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y.. “Republicans know that. Let’s see if they have the courage to do what they know is right, both deeply and politically, and tell Trump we don’t need God-, we don’t need a big ballroom.”