Trump suggests paying for his wall with funds for Pentagon
Still angry about the budget deal he signed last week, US President Donald Trump has floated the idea of using the Pentagon budget to pay for his longpromised border wall with Mexico, despite the fact that such spending would likely require approval from Congress.
Trump raised the funding plan with House speaker Paul Ryan at a meeting at the White House last Wednesday, according to a person familiar with the discussion.
And he has tweeted that building “a great Border Wall” is “all about National Defense” and has called to “Build WALL through M!” — the military.
Departments, however, have limited authority to reprogramme funds without congressional approval. Pentagon spokesman Chris Sherwood referred all questions on the wall to the White House, where spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders deflected them, saying she was “not going to get into the specifics of that.”
Trump threw Washington into a tizzy on Friday when he threatened to veto the omnibus spending bill, in part because it didn’t include the $25 billion he’d tried to secure for the wall in a lastminute bargaining spree.
The $1.3 trillion funding package did include $1.6 billion in border wall spending. But much of that money can only be used to repair existing segments, not build new sections. Congress also put restrictions on the types of barriers that can be built.
Trump has tried to justify signing the deal by pointing to the boost in funding it provides for the military. But he nonetheless remains frustrated. AP
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