Rick Scott pushes back on GOP plan to use taxpayer funds for Trump ballroom 

Published April 28, 2026 1:12pm ET | Updated April 28, 2026 4:47pm ET



Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) is pushing back on a Republican proposal to spend up to $400 million in federal funds on President Donald Trump’s planned White House ballroom, citing the nation’s mounting debt and deficit spending.

“I don’t know why you would do it” with taxpayer money, Scott told NBC News, “if it’s all funded … We have $39 trillion in debt. Maybe we ought to stop spending money.”

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