To build wall, Trump might try to tap into $800 million that is meant for Florida
President Donald Trump’s latest proposal to pay for a border wall by declaring a national emergency and taking money from disaster-relief projects — potentially including money doled out after Hurricanes Irma and Maria — could include more than $800 million doled out to Florida last year for disaster relief.
Several media outlets reported Thursday that Trump was eying a portion of $13.9 billion given to the Army Corps of Engineers by Congress for disaster-relief projects. That amount includes an $802 million outlay to Florida, the largest chunk of which was $514 million to repair the Herbert Hoover Dike around Lake Okeechobee.
Four members of Congress from Florida said they were not aware of any Florida-specific projects that could lose money to pay for the wall. Instead, money for projects in Puerto Rico and California could be used to give Trump the $5.7 billion that he is demanding for a wall, according to members of Congress from California.
“The [disaster] funds are flowing to Florida, and they’re flowing to our district,” said Republican Rep. Mario DiazBalart, who is a member of the House committee responsible for federal spending and represents part of the Naples area that saw heavy damage during Irma. “I would argue that it’s never fast enough, but the funds are flowing in our district. They’re going to all the cities, they’re going to all the municipalities. Florida’s got the money.”
Diaz-Balart, who is critical of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s refusal to include $5.7 billion in wall money in the House spending bills, said the impasse should be solved legislatively rather than Trump declaring a national emergency to find money for the wall. Such a move would bypass Congress’ power of the purse and likely set off litigation.
Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who also serves on the spending committee that distributed billions in relief funds, said Democrats and Republicans will not allow any money to be diverted for a wall from other projects approved by Congress.
“The president is still being very vague about where he’s going to pull these funds from,” Wasserman Schultz said. “Senator [Marco] Rubio and I have been talking and we’re working together to address and make it clear that raiding those funds would be unacceptable.”
The Los Angeles Times reported that 13 specific water-related projects in California and Puerto Rico could see funds diverted for Trump’s $5.7 billion demand. The California projects total $2.46 billion, while the Puerto Rico projects total $2.5 billion. None of the Florida members interviewed by the Miami Herald on Friday were aware of any potential Florida projects that could be included to drum up more border money.
On Friday, Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, said that it would not be acceptable for Trump to take funds from hurricane relief to pay for a border wall.
“We have people counting on that,” DeSantis told reporters in Tallahassee. “If they backfill it immediately after the government opens, that’s fine, but I don’t want that to be where that money is not available for us.”
DeSantis’ comments Friday struck a different tone than when he was asked about the shutdown on Thursday — before news broke that Florida’s hurricane funding could be sacrificed for the border wall. DeSantis, an ally of Trump who campaigned as a supporter of the president’s agenda, said then that he has his “hands full down here,” indicating he didn’t want to get involved in all the “political posturing” in Washington.
A spokesman for Republican Sen. Rick Scott said Scott spoke with Trump on Thursday night and said “at this time, we have no reason to believe that Florida disaster funds will be repurposed for any reason.”
Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times staff writer Emily Mahoney and Miami Herald staff writer David Smiley contributed to this report. Alex Daugherty: 202-383-6049, @alextdaugherty