DEFENSE CHIEF HAS NOT DETERMINED AMOUNT OF WALL FUND

WASHINGTON, D. C.: The acting secretary of defense said Saturday (Sunday in Manila) he had not yet determined how much money he would redirect to President Donald Trump’s border wall project. Pat Shanahan, who has been leading the Pentagon since Jim Mattis stepped down December 31, made the comment in an interview with reporters flying with him from Germany to Washington. Shanahan said he had a great deal of discretion in deciding how to use the authorities granted to him by Trump’s declaration Friday of a national emergency. The former Boeing executive said he would be working out details starting Sunday, emphasizing that his mission is to support the border security needs of the Department of Homeland Security. The White House said before Trump’s announcement that the border project, which is opposed by Democrats, would receive $3.6 billion that Congress originally provided for military construction projects and $2.5 billion from the Pentagon’s 2019 drug interdiction program.