Senate Republicans expected to ditch $1bn funding plan for Trump’s ballroom

Key points

• Senate Republican leaders are expected to ditch a $1bn proposal for security measures tied to Donald Trump’s White House ballroom following a backlash from members of their own party.
• Under pressure from Trump, top Republican lawmakers tried to latch the proposal on to a roughly $70bn bill to restore funding to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the border patrol.
• But the plan prompted intense anxiety among congressional Republicans, who feared diverting taxpayer dollars toward Trump’s “East Wing modernization project” amid mounting cost of living concerns across the US would risk alienating voters ahead of November’s midterm elections.
• Senate Democrats pledged to oppose the funding for Trump’s ballroom, and push “vote after vote” in a bid to force Republicans to publicly endorse it.
• Republican John Thune, the US Senate majority leader, acknowledged “ongoing vote issues” with the wider bill on Wednesday, as the party’s leaders try to gauge support....