Senate Republican leaders plan to turn the political fight over the $1 billion request for security upgrades tied to the new White House ballroom into a referendum on President Trump's safety.

Why it matters: Democrats think the $1 billion figure gives them a simple, bumper-sticker attack against Republicans for voters who are concerned about the cost of living.

• But Senate Majority Leader John Thune said the funding is intended to secure the new facility and ensure the Secret Service has the resources needed to protect the president.
• "It's a security-related measure," Thune told reporters today. "You've got a president where there have been three assassination attempts in just the last two years."

Between the lines: House Speaker Mike Johnson will seek to heal growing friction with his Senate counterparts in remarks at tomorrow's Senate GOP lunch, we reported today.

• Johnson is expected to stress open lines of communication as Republicans gear up for reconciliation packages 2.0 and 3.0. It will mark Johnson's first appearance at a Senate GOP lunch this year.
• U.S. Secret Service director Sean Curran will also join the lunch as the Senate considers funding for presidential security and the need for security enhancements in the new ballroom, two sources told us.

Zoom in: Thune's comments seem as directed at GOP holdouts as they are at Democrats.

• Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) told reporters: "I'm looking forward to seeing the details this week."
• Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) told reporters: "It was my understanding it was supposed to be paid for by private donations. That's what the president has said."
• "I have a feeling it may either not be in the bill or it may not pass the Byrd test, but we'll know probably more next week," said Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who prefers to use private donations for the ballroom.

The bottom line: "They've become ballroom Republicans," said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.

— Hans Nichols and Kate Santaliz

Billions will be spent to deliver a majority for Speaker Johnson or House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries this fall, but very little will cast them as main characters — either as heroes or villains.

🤬 Why it matters: Neither House leader inspires the partisan animosity — a la former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) — that makes them ideal for attack ads, according to party strategists working on House races.

• Expect to see much more of President Trump, New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), strategists tell us.

🚗 Driving the news: An Axios review of ads on the tracking site AdImpact turned up just a handful of Republican ads run since January 2025 that reference Jeffries.

• 📺 Derek Merrin, a GOP candidate in Ohio's 9th District, is running an ad that juxtaposes Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) with Jeffries and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), with a voice-over saying the district "doesn't need another politician."
• The NRCC has been running an ad specifically targeting Jeffries, accusing him of plotting a "Project 2026" to "remake America" with left-wing policies.
• We couldn't find any Democratic ads this election cycle that make explicit reference to Johnson.

The other side: Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-Va.) is facing Democratic calls to resign after she said, "Yes, yes to that" after a radio host said Jeffries should get his "cotton-picking hands off of Virginia."

• Kiggans, who later denied the suggestion that she agreed with the comment and said she does not condone it, is locked in one of the most competitive House races in the country.

Between the lines: There is a storied history of political ad-makers trying to take down swing-district candidates by tying them to their party's congressional leaders.

• ⚡️ Pelosi was the prime example: She was an uber-popular Republican target as far back as 2006, before her first stint as speaker.
• But Jeffries and Johnson are newish to their roles and have cultivated reputations as inoffensive behind-the-scenes operators relative to the firebrands in their respective parties.
• 🔨 A Democratic strategist also pointed to the fact that the party has explicitly hammered a message that casts Johnson as the "deputy speaker" playing second fiddle to Trump.

🌎 Zoom out: Trump is nearly ubiquitous in Democratic ads, including those used against other Democrats in contested primaries.

• House Majority Forward, the nonprofit arm of House Democrats' main super PAC, makes repeated references to Trump in ads blasting vulnerable GOP incumbents on tariffs, Medicaid cuts and rising prices.
• Republicans have plenty of Democratic targets in their ads, including Ocasio-Cortez, Mamdani, Sanders, former Vice President Kamala Harris, Pelosi and California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

— Andrew Solender