“Zero tax dollars for the ballroom, zero tax dollars.”

Remarks on night one of the Republican midterm convention, Dallas

Public money was moved to the project while he was saying none was. The budget office redirected $352 million that had been intended in part for Secret Service training and recruitment to what it described as security measures at the White House, and a person familiar with the Secret Service budget said the funding was to help pay for the new East Wing that includes the ballroom. Roll Call reported the two apportionments behind that figure, $340.8 million for procurement and construction and $10.75 million for operations, making $351.6 million available immediately for White House security measures. The contractor overseeing the work told the White House in March that the expected cost was $600 million, with more than half coming from taxpayers. The administration's $1 billion White House security request to Senate Republicans included $220 million to harden the ballroom addition itself.

The administration's answer is that the two things are separate, and that is the claim's best defence. A senior administration official said the money deposited into Secret Service accounts was for security upgrades across the White House complex and that the ballroom itself would be paid for with private donations secured by the president. The proposed bill language said the money may not be used for non-security elements. What that leaves is a claim of zero tax dollars alongside $220 million of requested public money to harden the structure being built, and a contractor's estimate that more than half the cost would fall to taxpayers. Senator Susan Collins said the private-donation account raised the question whether federal funds were also being used.