A proposal to fund $1 billion in security additions for the White House campus and the president’s new ballroom fails to meet procedural rules, according to the Senate parliamentarian, dealing a blow to Republican plans to include it as part of a bill to fund immigration enforcement agencies for the next three years.
The parliamentarian’s ruling, described late Saturday by Senate Democrats, said that funding for a project as large and complex as President Donald Trump’s massive East Wing renovation is too broad to be included in the narrow GOP budget bill, which cannot be filibustered and only needs a simple majority to pass.
It’s unclear if Republicans will be able to immediately salvage any part of the billion-dollar Secret Service proposal, which would fund security for Trump’s ballroom along with other parts of the White House, including a new visitor screening center, additional training for agents and extra reinforcements for large events. Republicans said Saturday night that they are revising the legislation based on the parliamentarian’s advice. [snip]
Democrats have seized on the security request, accusing Republicans of dedicating precious federal resources to the ballroom effort instead of focusing on helping Americans with rising costs. Republicans have insisted that private donations will be used to build the ballroom and that the federal dollars are focused just on much-needed security enhancements.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., took credit for the ruling after Democrats argued to the parliamentarian that the security money doesn’t belong in the bill.
“Republicans tried to make taxpayers foot the bill for Trump’s billion-dollar ballroom,” Schumer said Saturday evening. “Senate Democrats fought back — and blew up their first attempt.”
Schumer added that Democrats “will be ready to stop them again” as Republicans say they will revise the bill.
The ruling from the Senate parliamentarian is just advisory, but such rulings are rarely if ever ignored when lawmakers put together legislation that can pass with a simple majority. Most bills are subject to a filibuster and thus need 60 votes for passage — meaning Republicans must find some Democratic support in the 53-47 Senate.
The Malignant Fascist-subservient Senate Republicans will try to find a way to satisfy the parliamentarian's objections in order to give their cult leader his golden ballroom. Democrats need to stop this waste of taxpayer dollars; but regardless, any such monstrosity (along with any triumphal arch) that the MF may have built needs to be demolished as soon as there's a Democrat in the White House.
The World Health Organization declared the Ebola disease outbreak caused by a rare virus in Congo and neighboring Uganda a public health emergency of international concern on Sunday, after more than 300 suspected cases and 88 deaths.
WHO said the outbreak doesn’t meet the criteria of a pandemic emergency like COVID-19, and advised against the closure of international borders.
WHO said on X that a laboratory-confirmed case has also been reported in Congo’s capital, Kinshasa, which is about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) from the outbreak’s epicenter in the eastern province of Ituri, suggesting a possible wider spread. It said the patient had visited Ituri and that other suspected cases have also been reported in North Kivu province, which is one of Congo’s most populous and borders Ituri.
On Sunday, the rebel government of Goma, eastern Congo’s largest city, said in a statement that the first confirmed case of Ebola was detected in the city. The infected person traveled from Ituri province and was currently under isolation, the statement said. Goma was the site of a rapid rebel offensive in early 2025, and the conflict between the Congolese armed forces and the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel paramilitary group has displaced hundreds of thousands.
Ebola is highly contagious and can be contracted via bodily fluids such as vomit, blood or semen. The disease it causes is rare, but severe and often fatal.
WHO’s emergency declaration is meant to spur donor agencies and countries into action. By WHO’s standards, it shows the event is serious, there is a risk of international spread and it requires a coordinated international response...
Ebola. Hantavirus. Measles. Aren't we a fortunate nation in these perilous times to have the competent, well-informed leadership of Bobby Brainworm and the moron MF!
President Donald Trump appeared to fall back to another genocidal threat against Iran on Sunday, as the ceasefire between the Islamic Republic, the United States and Israel grows increasingly shaky.
"For Iran, the Clock is Ticking, and they better get moving, FAST, or there won't be anything left of them," Trump posted on Truth Social after a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who separately told his Cabinet on Sunday that "we are prepared for any scenario."
The threat came after a drone strike the United Arab Emirates described as an "unprovoked terrorist attack" that sparked a fire on the edge of its only nuclear power plant, leading the International Atomic Energy Agency's director-general to express "grave concern."
The UAE did not blame any party for the strike, but has previously accused Iran of attacking Western-allied Gulf Arab states with drones and missiles as tensions rise over the Strait of Hormuz's fate. With diplomatic talks breaking down – likely made worse by Trump's pattern of threatening to wipe out an entire civilization – Iranian officials and state media appear to be preparing the public for a ground war.
Another day, another erratic move, another ugly genocidal threat. The MF's flailing, dangerous amateur hour is going to end up costing lives.
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