Senator Hassan Questions U.S. Secret Service on $400+ Million Diverted to Trump’s Ballroom & White House Construction

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 24, 2026
Contact: minority_jecpress@jec.senate.gov

Senator Hassan Questions U.S. Secret Service on $400+ Million Diverted to Trump’s Ballroom & White House Construction

Request Comes as Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General Found that Existing Secret Service Staffing and Resource Constraints “Risk Mission Effectiveness”

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Ranking Member of the Joint Economic Committee and senior member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, today pressed the United States Secret Service for more information on the redirection of hundreds of millions in funds from the agency to White House construction projects. The Senator called for answers on how this has impacted operations, including security for the President and other protectees, and the agency’s anti-scam efforts. The White House has reportedly diverted more than $400 million in Secret Service funding to cover the costs of White House renovation projects – including President Trump’s new ballroom – despite the President’s claim that these projects would not be constructed with taxpayer money.

These funding diversions are especially concerning given that a recent report from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Inspector General found that existing Secret Service staffing and resource constraints “risk mission effectiveness.”

“At least $396 million in funding appears to have been redirected in June 2026 from a $1.17 billion appropriation for the Secret Service in the 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” said Ranking Member Hassan in her request. “Importantly, this appropriation specified that the funds ‘may only be used for’ additional agency resources, including personnel, training facilities, programming, and technology, as well as bonuses for Secret Service agents.” 

In her request, Ranking Member Hassan further highlighted that, “In the months prior to this unexpected diversion of funds, the Secret Service had already raised concerns about its lack of resources – even with the additional $1.17 billion supplemental appropriation from Congress. [...] In fact, agents have opened 10,000 protective cases since January 2026, approximately 40 percent more than at this same time last year. The DHS Office of Inspector General echoed these concerns in its June 2026 report, which found that the Secret Service was struggling with ‘burnout and attrition.’ The report further highlighted ‘deficiencies with component operations that could jeopardize the safety of [its] protectees’ and noted that ‘factors such as lack of personnel, deficient systems, and outdated technology all affect its ability to achieve its mission.’” 

Senator Hassan also pointed to concerns about the impact of funding diversions on the Secret Service’s work to stop scams. Hassan is leading an ongoing comprehensive effort to combat criminal fraud and protect Americans from financially devastating scams. In her request, she raised that combatting financial crimes – including scams – is a “core mission area for the Secret Service.”

Ranking Member Hassan continued, “In addition to its vital duties to keep the President and other protectees safe, the Secret Service undertakes crucial work to combat financial crimes, including scams, cyberfraud, and money laundering. [...] These activities included recovering more than $751 million in losses related to cyber-enabled financial crime, arresting more than 700 criminals, and responding to more than 600 network intrusions. [...] At a time of rising scam threats, any obstacle to the Secret Service performing its mission to ‘protect[] our nation from individuals and criminal organizations intent on scamming Americans’ represents a grave threat to American families and the U.S. economy.”  

Read the full text of Ranking Member Hassan’s request here or below. 

Dear Director Curran: 

I write today to request information concerning how the redirection of hundreds of millions in funds from the U.S. Secret Service to White House construction projects – including President Trump’s extravagant new ballroom – has impacted operations at your agency. The White House has reportedly diverted more than $400 million in Secret Service funding to cover the costs of White House renovation projects despite President Trump’s earlier assurances that these projects would be constructed “taxpayer-free” and with “no taxpayer putting up 10 cents.” These funding diversions are especially concerning given that a recent report from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Inspector General found that existing Secret Service staffing and resource constraints “risk mission effectiveness.” Accordingly, I seek information on how the recent Secret Service funding diversions to White House projects impact the ability of the Secret Service to carry out its essential responsibilities to protect the President as well as to safeguard the U.S. financial infrastructure. 

According to the Washington Post, $415 million in Secret Service funds have been diverted to White House construction and renovation projects, including President Trump’s ballroom, accounting for nearly half of the projected $927 million in total costs. At least $396 million in funding appears to have been redirected in June 2026 from a $1.17 billion appropriation for the Secret Service in the 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Importantly, this appropriation specified that the funds “may only be used for” additional agency resources, including personnel, training facilities, programming, and technology, as well as bonuses for Secret Service agents.

In the months prior to this unexpected diversion of funds, the Secret Service had already raised concerns about its lack of resources – even with the additional $1.17 billion supplemental appropriation from Congress. In written testimony before the House Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on Homeland Security in April 2026, you called for more funding to handle “an elevated threat environment and increased operational tempo.” Additionally, in July 2026, you described that threat environment as “off the charts” and the highest you had ever seen. In fact, agents have opened 10,000 protective cases since January 2026, approximately 40 percent more than at this same time last year. The DHS Office of Inspector General echoed these concerns in its June 2026 report, which found that the Secret Service was struggling with “burnout and attrition.” The report further highlighted “deficiencies with component operations that could jeopardize the safety of [its] protectees” and noted that “factors such as lack of personnel, deficient systems, and outdated technology all affect its ability to achieve its mission.”

In addition to its vital duties to keep the President and other protectees safe, the Secret Service undertakes crucial work to combat financial crimes, including scams, cyberfraud, and money laundering. In your Congressional testimony in April, you described this work as “a significant priority and core mission area for the Secret Service” and noted the agency’s many successful cases in FY 2025. These activities included recovering more than $751 million in losses related to cyber-enabled financial crime, arresting more than 700 criminals, and responding to more than 600 network intrusions. As you explained, this represented a nearly 880 percent return on investment compared to the agency’s investigative budget. At a time of rising scam threats, any obstacle to the Secret Service performing its mission to “protect[] our nation from individuals and criminal organizations intent on scamming Americans” represents a grave threat to American families and the U.S. economy.

Accordingly, I am concerned that the diversion of funds may negatively impact the Secret Service’s efforts to combat scams and other financial crimes, and I seek answers to the following questions regarding the agency’s ability to perform its vital duties:

1. Please describe the ways in which the Secret Service had used or had planned to use the $415 million in funding that was ultimately diverted to President Trump’s White House construction and renovation projects. 

2. How has the loss of this funding affected the Secret Service’s ability to fulfill its protective duties? Please describe the impact on agency staffing shortages and any related reductions or discontinuation of protection for officials, including the President.
   1. Specifically, please describe the impact that this loss of funding has had on the ability of the Secret Service to recruit, hire, and train the necessary new personnel, including agents, to overcome the understaffing that the DHS Office of Inspector General has identified. 

3. How has the loss of this funding affected the Secret Service’s ability to counter financial crimes, including scams? Specifically, please describe: 
   1. Any terminations or disruptions of existing investigations or reductions in new investigations; 
   2. Any reductions in personnel or the number of hours dedicated to financial crime investigations; 
   3. Any limitations on the agency’s access to cutting-edge technologies and equipment that support financial crime investigations;
   4. Any impacts on Secret Service cooperation with outside partners, including local, state, federal, and foreign law enforcement agencies, and any changes to the operations of the Secret Service National Computer Forensics Institute (NCFI) specifically; and 
   5. Any anticipated impacts on the activities described above. 

4. In Congressional testimony prior to the diversion of funds, you stated that the Secret Service needed more funding in addition to the $1.17 billion in supplemental funding and the $3.45 billion in discretionary funding provided in the President’s FY 2027 budget.
   1. What is your rationale for requesting additional funding?
   1. What resources did the agency lack at the time of your testimony, and how has this lack of resources affected the agency’s ability to fulfill its mission?
   2. At the time of your testimony, what cuts and adjustments had the Secret  Service made due to a lack of funding and necessary resources?
   3. What subsequent cuts or adjustments has the Secret Service made, if any, since you provided this testimony?

5. Please explain whether the Secret Service received any advance notice from the Office of Management and Budget prior to the diversion of funds or a rationale for this action. If so, please describe these communications.  

6. Please provide copies of any written correspondence between the Secret Service and the Office of Management and Budget, as well as any other relevant White House offices, regarding the diversion of funds. 

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