Senate parliamentarian rules against Trump’s White House ballroom funding in budget bill
Key takeaways
- The guidance, according to Sen.
- Earlier this month, the Senate Judiciary Committee as well as the upper chamber s Homeland Security Committe included funding for the new complex in a budget reconciliation bill for federal immigration enforcement.
- The Parliamentarian s advice is based on whether a provision is appropriate for reconciliation and conforms to the limitations of the Byrd Rule;
Why this matters: political developments that affect policy direction and public trust.
The guidance, according to Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) who serves as the ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee, states that a project as complex and large in scale as Trump s proposed ballroom necessarily involves the coordination of many government agencies which span the jurisdiction of many Senate committees, adding that the funding provision is outside the scope of the Judiciary panel
Earlier this month, the Senate Judiciary Committee as well as the upper chamber s Homeland Security Committe included funding for the new complex in a budget reconciliation bill for federal immigration enforcement.
According to Merkley, Elizabeth MacDonough, the nonpartisan Senate parliamentarian, said that the ballroom funds violated the Byrd Rule — a strict Senate procedure that prevents non-budgetary extraneous provisions from being passed through the budget reconciliation process.