Republicans returning to Washington on Monday are facing questions about a $1 billion Senate security proposal that could help pay for President Donald Trump's ballroom. Democrats say they will try to defeat it. Senate Republicans added the money for White House security to a spending bill that would restore funding for immigration enforcement agencies that Democrats have blocked since February. The steep security proposal was put forward after a man was charged with trying to assassinate Trump at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner last month. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said Democrats will try to strip the security proposal from the bill.

Senate Republicans are pushing $1 billion in White House security upgrades for President Donald Trump's ballroom project. A Republican bill released late Monday would give the U.S. Secret Service money for "security adjustments and upgrades" related to the ballroom. Trump and Republicans have been pushing the project since an incident last week at a media dinner where a man was charged with trying to assassinate the president. Republicans say the president needs the ballroom as a secure location to hold events. Democrats oppose funding the ballroom and The National Trust for Historic Preservation has sued to stop it.

The Justice Department is pressing for the dismissal of preservationists' lawsuit over the planned $400 million White House ballroom after the shooting at Saturday's media gala. But its latest court filing reads more like a Truth Social post from President Donald Trump than a document crafted by government lawyers. The filing submitted Monday by the Justice Department is chock-full of the kind of Trumpian touches the president uses in written communication, such as erratic capitalization, exclamation points, non sequiturs, praise for the president and accusations his opponents are insane. The 16-page filing is a sign of the extraordinary degree to which the president has demolished the traditional wall of independence between the Justice Department and White House.

President Donald Trump is more overtly leaning into some of the spoils of his office in his second term, drawing comparisons to French Queen Marie Antoinette from political opponents. He has celebrated renderings of his $400 million White House ballroom even during the war in Iran and a partial government shutdown. His administration is pushing ahead with plans to build a 250-foot Triumphal Arch near the Lincoln Memorial. Democrats say Trump is more interested in the gilded trappings of the presidency than in everyday Americans' concerns about affordability. The White House says the projects "will benefit generations of future presidents and American visitors."

A federal commission has approved the design concept for the Triumphal Arch that President Donald Trump wants to build at an entrance to the nation's capital. The 250-foot-tall arch would rise on federal land on the Virginia side of the Potomac River, at the end of Memorial Bridge from the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts will review an updated design at a later date before a final vote. The arch is one of several projects, including a new White House ballroom, that the Republican president is pursuing to leave a lasting imprint on the city.

President Donald Trump has railed against a federal judge's decision that continues to block above-ground construction of a $400 million White House ballroom. The decision on Thursday allows only below-ground work on a bunker and other "national security facilities" at the site. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon in Washington issued his latest ruling Thursday in a lawsuit over the ballroom project several days after an appeals court instructed him to reconsider the possible national security implications of stopping construction. Leon said he is ordering a stop only to the above-ground construction of the planned ballroom, apart from any work needed to cover or secure that part of the project.

President Donald Trump's new White House ballroom has gotten final approval from a key commission. This comes after a federal judge ordered a halt to construction unless Congress approves the project. The Trump-appointed chair of the National Capital Planning Commission said the agency moved ahead with Thursday's vote because the judge's ruling affects construction activities, not planning. The ballroom is estimated to cost $400 million and has faced opposition and legal challenges. The Republican president aims to complete the ballroom project before his term ends in 2029. The ballroom will include security upgrades and is funded by donations and public dollars for security enhancements.

A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to suspend construction of a $400 million ballroom after it demolished the East Wing of the White House. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon in Washington granted a preservationist group's request for a preliminary injunction that temporarily halts President Donald Trump's White House ballroom project. Leon wrote that the president is a steward of the White House, not its owner. The National Trust for Historic Preservation sued to obtain an order pausing the ballroom project until it undergoes multiple independent reviews and receives congressional approval.

In a rare bipartisan effort for a deeply divided Congress, the Senate has passed a broad bill to make U.S. housing more accessible and affordable. The bill passed on Thursday would reduce regulations, regulate corporate investors and expand how housing dollars can be used to build affordable homes and rentals. It now heads back to the House, which passed a separate version earlier this year. It is unclear whether President Donald Trump would sign it after declaring last weekend that he won't sign any new measures unless Congress passes legislation that would require voters to show proof of citizenship.