U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Susan Collins, R-Maine, speaks to reporters at the U.S. Capitol, Sept. 29, 2025. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)
WASHINGTON – Several Republican senators left a closed-door lunch with Secret Service Director Sean Curran on Tuesday, saying they still had questions about how the agency would spend the additional $1 billion.
“I asked for a lot more data,” said Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Susan Collins, R-Maine. “If, for example, new training ranges are needed, it should be in the president’s budget.”
Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, included the significant raise a larger immigration enforcement billwhich raised concerns among some of his colleagues in the Republican Party and criticism from Democrats, the money will be used to build a ballroom in the White House.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-D., said after lunch that the additional funding was intended primarily for regular Secret Service operations, not to support the creation of a up-to-date ballroom.
“The ballroom is privately funded, but the safety associated with it is about 20% of what was requested,” Thune said.
A breakdown of the Secret Service’s employ of the up-to-date funds, obtained by States Newsroom, showed:
- The $220 million will be used to “strengthen” the East Wing modernization project by adding additional bulletproof glass, drone detection technology and filtration systems designed to detect chemicals and other contaminants.
- The $180 million will go toward building a “long-awaited” facility to screen White House visitors.
- The $175 million would strengthen Secret Service training and its training infrastructure.
- The $175 million will support the agency “secure high-traffic sites that are at increased risk due to their public visibility and static nature.”
- The $150 million will go to a division of the Secret Service that focuses on drones, aircraft incursions, biological threats and “other emerging threats through investments in cutting-edge technologies.”
- $100 million for “high-profile national events requiring significant planning.”
Florida Republican Senator Rick Scott said he wants the Secret Service to release more information.
“I think the most important thing is that people want to show support, right? They want security for the president, but they want more details,” he said.
The $1 billion for the Secret Service will be in addition to the $1.17 billion Republicans approved for the agency under their “big, beautiful” law, as well as the agency’s annual funding levels.
White House published its budget request in early April, asking lawmakers to approve $3.5 billion for the Secret Service in the annual funding bill, an augment of $36 million.
Senators want more details
Utah Republican Sen. John Curtis said he wants “more details” from the administration beyond what lawmakers saw at lunch.
South Dakota Republican Sen. Mike Rounds said he has been asked for more information from the Secret Service about its needs.
“They’re trying to make it very clear that they’re talking about security improvements that need to be included if we’re doing a major reconstruction in the White House itself,” he said. “So I think as more information starts to come out, people will feel much more comfortable complying with what they are asking for.”
Sen. Josh Hawley, a Republican from Missouri, said he supported additional funding for the Secret Service, arguing that security at the White House could be complicated.
“It doesn’t bother me,” he said. “As long as it is used for security reasons.”
Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski said she wants to see a detailed breakdown of how the $1 billion will be allocated before she decides to support the move.
No details from the president of the District Court
Grassley, who included a line item in his immigration enforcement bill to “adjust and enhance security” as part of the East Wing modernization project, did not share details before lunch on how he arrived at the $1 billion figure.
“It was just kind of a consensus among all of us,” he said, later adding that the agreement was reached among GOP Senate lawmakers, not the White House.
Grassley said he doesn’t expect to know before the end of the week whether Secret Service funds will remain in the $72 billion package intended to fund immigration activities for the next three years.
The Judiciary Committee’s bill and the bill written by the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, which will be combined in the coming days, would provide $38.175 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, $26.02 billion for Customs and Border Protection, $5 billion for the Secretary of the Office of Homeland Security, and $1.457 billion for the Department of Justice.
GOP congressional leaders hope to approve the bill next week and send it to President Donald Trump before the Memorial Day weekend recess.
A chance for Democrats
The Senate debate on the package includes a marathon vote on amendments that will give Democrats and even Republicans a chance to get votes for or against additional spending.
Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, said Democrats “will certainly be able to inform our colleagues” about additional funding for the Secret Service.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Democrats “will fight this bill tooth and nail.”
“We will propose amendments and force Republicans to vote over and over again on one simple question – are you with working families or with Trump’s ballroom,” he said.
Thune said earlier in the day that Republicans “can’t have a lot of hiccups right now” and yet they’re sending Trump a package ahead of the president’s June 1 deadline.
