The Senate Judiciary Committee late Monday added $1 billion to a proposed spending package for the U.S. Secret Service to help boost security to the White House ballroom.

The added funds do not specifically state that it must be used on the ballroom, but it does mandate that it's used on security upgrades to the White House. The funds are part of a $72 billion budget reconciliation bill proposed by the Judiciary panel and the Senate Homeland Security Committee.

The committees said the $1 billion will be for “the purposes of security adjustments and upgrades, including within the perimeter fence of the White House compound to support enhancements by the United States Secret Service relating to the East Wing Modernization Project, including above-ground and below-ground security features.”

The funds cannot be used for non-security aspects of the ballroom construction project, according to the bill.

The spending package will largely fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol and is a separate funding bill from the Senate's Homeland Security appropriations package for fiscal year 2026. 

The added money comes after lawmakers and the Trump administration raised alarm over the security of the Washington Hilton as the location of the White House Correspondents' Association dinner, after an alleged gunman reportedly fired at last month's dinner, and suggested future dinners be held in the new ballroom once construction is completed. 

The White House celebrated the latest proposal in a statement to Politico on Tuesday, claiming lawmakers were making the right move in boosting funding for security features for the ballroom.

“The White House applauds Congress’s latest proposal in its reconciliation package which includes additional funding for security infrastructure upgrades in relation to the long overdue East Wing Modernization Project,” White House spokesperson Davis Ingle said. “Congress has rightly recognized the need for these funds.”

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.