Senate Republicans balk at $1B White House ballroom request: ‘You made that number up’

By Fox News · Fox News

Senate Republicans are having a hard time stomaching an eye-popping funding request that, in part, would fund security enhancements for President Donald Trump's ballroom. Republicans in the upper chamber still aren’t completely on board with a $1 billion request from the Trump administration and Secret Service tucked into their immigration operations funding package, and many are wondering how exactly that figure was created. "It was one thing when private dollars were building it," Sen. John Curtis, R-Utah, said. "If you're asking me for a billion dollars, I have some really hard questions. If I were a businessman and an employee came and said, ‘I have a project, and it's a billion dollars,’ I'd say, ‘You made that number up,’ right? Like, where did the number come from?" ONCE TOUTED AS PRIVATELY FUNDED, REPUBLICANS SNEAK IN TAXPAYER CASH FOR TRUMP'S BALLROOM PROJECT Curtis’ skepticism came as Republicans were headed for a closed-door briefing on the request from Secret Service Director Sean Curran, who provided a high-level breakdown of the funding in a one-pager obtained by Fox News Digital. Curran’s explanation wasn’t enough for several Republicans, who left the meeting still wanting more detailed information on exactly how the funding, which is part of the broader reconciliation package meant for immigration enforcement, would be used. "They need to go back and get us more details about exactly how they arrived at the figure," Sen. Todd Young, R-Neb., said afterward. Curran presented lawmakers with a high-level breakdown of how the money would be spent, which included $220 million for " White House complex hardening." TRUMP ADMIN DEFENDS WHITE HOUSE BALLROOM AS NATIONAL SECURITY MATTER That category, like the legislation released by the Senate Judiciary Committee last week, dictated that the funding would fund "above and below ground" security enhancements for Trump’s ballroom, which the administration argued would "afford needed protection for the president,…