WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans led by Sen. Lindsey Graham announced Monday that they would expedite legislation allocating $400 million in public funds to construct a secure ballroom at the White House proposed by President Donald Trump. Graham held a late-evening press conference with Sens. Katie Britt and Eric Schmitt to outline the plan.

Graham said the $400 million should come from taxpayer money collected as national park fees and customs fees, with private funding covering additional costs such as fine china. He said the structure would house "a lot of military stuff" and "infrastructure that is national security-centric" beneath the ballroom, and would allow Trump and future presidents to remain on the White House grounds instead of leaving for public events.

"If you don't think $400 million of taxpayer money is a good investment to create a secure facility at the White House, then I disagree. I bet you 90% of Americans would love to have a better facility," Graham said at the press conference.

The senators cited a shooting at the White House Correspondents Association dinner as evidence the project is a national security priority. A man armed with multiple guns and knives attempted to break into the dinner and exchanged gunfire with Secret Service personnel before being tackled and disarmed. The association has held its annual dinner at the Washington Hilton for decades.

Trump held a press conference with his top administration officials following the incident and declared the incident had proven that "we need the ballroom."

Trump had previously insisted the project would be paid for entirely by private donations from companies including Amazon, Lockheed Martin, and Google. He ordered demolition work to begin on the ballroom last year.

A federal court recently ruled the project must be approved by Congress, according to court filings. An appeals court this month allowed construction to continue while it reviews the ruling. The U.S. Department of Justice filed a motion demanding that U.S. District Judge Richard Leon dissolve his previous injunction blocking the project.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal opposed the funding plan. "Ninety percent of Americans would love to have affordable healthcare, housing, and childcare. Not a frigging illegally constructed ballroom," she said.

In one monthly survey in March, American public approval of the president stood at 40%. Hours after Graham unveiled his plan, Rep. Riley Moore appeared on Fox Business to support building the ballroom.