A Senate parliamentarian blocked Republicans from including $1 billion for White House security upgrades tied to President Donald Trump’s new ballroom in a broader immigration funding bill. Democrats celebrated the ruling, accusing the GOP of misusing taxpayer money. Republicans said they will revise and resubmit the legislation.

Washington: A proposal to fund USD 1 billion in security additions for the White House campus and the president's new ballroom fails to meet procedural rules, according to the Senate parliamentarian, dealing a blow to Republican plans to include it as part of a bill to fund immigration enforcement agencies for the next three years.

The parliamentarian's ruling, described late Saturday by Senate Democrats, said that a project as large and complex as President Donald Trump's massive East Wing renovation is too broad to be included in the budget bill, which only needs a simple majority — and no Democratic votes — to pass.

It's unclear if Republicans will be able to salvage any part of the billion-dollar Secret Service proposal, which would have funded security for Trump's ballroom along with other parts of the White House, including a new visitor screening centre, training for agents and extra reinforcements for large events. Republicans said Saturday night that they are revising the legislation based on the parliamentarian's advice.

Ryan Wrasse, a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader John Thune, wrote in a post on X that “none of this is abnormal” during the complicated budget process that Republicans are using to try and pass the immigration enforcement and White House security money on a partisan basis.