President Trump is privately lobbying his advisers to support a plan that would divert some of the $1.4 trillion approved for national defense spending toward the construction of the southwest border wall, according to a report published Tuesday.
Trump hinted in a tweet Sunday that the government should “build WALL through M,” but now appears to be attempting to whip support among defense officials for his plan.
Because of the $700 & $716 Billion Dollars gotten to rebuild our Military, many jobs are created and our Military is again rich. Building a great Border Wall, with drugs (poison) and enemy combatants pouring into our Country, is all about National Defense. Build WALL through M!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 25, 2018
Trump is now said to have told multiple advisers on various occasions over the past week that the U.S.-Mexico border is a “national security” issue, and the barrier should come out of the Department of Defense’s pockets.
The move comes a week after Congress passed and Trump signed the $1.3 trillion spending bill that provided $700 billion for national defense in fiscal 2018.
Trump also told House Speaker Paul Ryan last Wednesday that he believed the military should share some of its funding — likely around $25 billion as the White House’s January request had estimated — with the Department of Homeland Security.
The change in plans comes two and a half years after Trump campaigned on getting Mexico to pay for the wall. That plan later morphed into the U.S. taxing Mexican imports to make up for the costs.
When Congress failed to codify the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and make a deal on border wall funding, Trump had hoped lawmakers would throw both items into the omnibus. However, both issues went largely unaddressed.
The border wall received $1.6 billion in the omnibus, but much of it will be directed toward replacement projects, roadways and technology.
Even if defense officials give Trump the green light on his proposal, a budget amendment would require at least 60 senators to vote in favor of the change, a number Republicans do not appear to have a pathway to achieve.
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders declined to confirm whether Trump planned to use defense funding.
“I’m not going to get into the specifics of that, but I can tell you that the wall is continuing to be built currently and we’re going to keep pushing forward until it’s fully completed in the way that the president feels is necessary to defend the country,” she said.
The night before Trump tweeted about using military funding to pay for the wall, conservative commentator Ann Coulter told Fox News host Jeanine Pirro that border protection is an issue of national security.
“[We] engage in a lot of military actions around the world. I think it can be done right on our border as part of the defense, have the Seabees do it,” Coulter said, referring to naval mobile construction battalions.
“Where does he get the money to build the wall that you say he can build as national defense? Where does he take the money from?” Pirro asked.
“The same place Reagan took the money to invade Granada, the same place [Trump] took the money to bomb Syria. He has money to spend on national defense,” Coulter responded.
Yep, here it is. The night before Trump tweeted that the military should pay for the wall, Anne Coulter told Jeanine Pirro that Trump “has the money with national defense and this is a much bigger problem of national defense.” Coulter also said he should “have the Seabees do it.” pic.twitter.com/XtfFRoQnem
— Dave Brown (@dave_brown24) March 27, 2018
