Congressional Republicans rally around Trump's White House ballroom project

three senate republicans — lindsey graham, katie britt, and eric schmitt — introduced a bill monday to authorize $400 million in federal funding for a white house ballroom. the push follows a shooting incident that cut short the white house correspondents' dinner on saturday. an alleged gunman rushed the hotel where the event was held but was stopped by secret service before reaching the room with trump, vance, and members of congress. trump called for the ballroom as a more secure alternative to the washington hilton. graham said the cost would be offset by customs fees and asked majority leader john thune to expedite the process. he hasn't ruled out attaching it to a tax and spending bill funding dhs subagencies. rand paul plans to bring his own bill to the floor tuesday. house members randy fine and lauren boebert signaled similar bills. one democrat, john fetterman, also called for supporting the funding. a federal judge blocked construction earlier this month, ruling trump hadn't secured congressional authorization. britt called that legal challenge ridiculous. the senate passed a dhs funding bill in march, but house republicans rejected it.