Trump floats using military budget to pay for border wall

WASHINGTON — Still angry about the budget deal he signed last week, President Donald Trump has floated the idea of using the military’s budget to pay for his long-promised 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 who spoke on condition of anonymity.

And he’s publicly tweeted that building “a great Border Wall” is “all about National Defense,” and called to “Build WALL through M!” — meaning the military.

Departments, however, have limited authority to reprogram 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.”