Senate Republicans Revise $71.7B Reconciliation Bill's $1B White House Ballroom Provision After Byrd Rule Strike — Judiciary and Homeland Security Committees Begin Formal Markup Week

On May 18, 2026, Senate Republicans scrambled to revise language in the $71.7 billion immigration enforcement reconciliation package's $1 billion White House ballroom and event security provision after Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough ruled it also violated the Byrd Rule — adding to the earlier May 14–15 rulings that struck Border Patrol funding, DHS appropriations sections, and border security technology provisions. Republican negotiators rewrote and resubmitted the ballroom security provision in an attempt to bring it into reconciliation compliance while preserving its substance. The Judiciary Committee and Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC) formally opened markup sessions for their respective portions of the $71.7B package — a $39.2B Judiciary title funding ICE expansion, detention beds, deportation flight infrastructure, and $287(g) partnerships, and a $32.5B HSGAC title for CBP staffing, border wall construction, and DHS personnel. Democrats on both committees used procedural motions and Byrd Rule challenges to slow the process and force Republicans to publicly defend each provision. The package funds at minimum 100,000 ICE detention beds, mass deportation fleet acquisition, and a tripling of 287(g) MOAs. Senate Majority Leader Thune's stated timeline called for a full floor vote later in the same week to meet President Trump's June 1 signing deadline. The CBO on May 4 scored the combined package at $71.7B in new mandatory spending.