Acting Pentagon chief Patrick Shanahan said today he had authorized $1 billion to build part of the wall sought by President Trump along the U.S.-Mexico border – prompting Donald Trump Jr. to exclaim that “Christmas has come early.”
The Department of Homeland Security asked the Pentagon to build 57 miles of 18ft fencing, build and improve roads, and install lighting to support Trump’s emergency declaration.
Shanahan “authorized the commander of the US Army Corps of Engineers to begin planning and executing up to $1 billion in support to the Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Patrol” a Pentagon statement read.
Shanahan said he will shift the $1 billion into a military account for drug enforcement — one of the three pots of money the Trump administration is tapping under its declaration of national emergency. (The logic is that the wall will impede drug-smuggling corridors, though all available evidence suggests that the majority of drugs smuggled into the US through Mexico come via official ports of entry.)
Shanahan admitted today Trump decided to shift military funds to build the southern border wall last month despite warnings from top Pentagon officials who cautioned that doing so could hurt the Defense Department long-term.
The funds will be shifted away from projects that include $1.2 billion for schools, childcare centers and other facilities for military children, according to a list provided to lawmakers.
The Pentagon gave Congress a list last week that included $12.8 billion of construction projects for which it said funds could be redirected.
Around 10 percent of the list relates to educational establishments and includes school buildings for the children of service members in places like Germany, Japan, Kentucky and Puerto Rico.
During the campaign, Trump pledged that Mexico would pay for the wall, something that has not happened.
Leaders of the congressional committees overseeing the Pentagon that same day got notification of $1 billion in “reprogramming” — shifting funds from one government agency or account to another — from the military-personnel fund to the drug-enforcement fund.
House Armed Services Committee Chair Adam Smith (D-WA) formally rejected that notice in a letter today: “The committee does not approve the use of Department of Defense funds to construct additional physical barriers,” he wrote.
Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, said that while the committee’s members might disagree on border and immigration policies, “We have bipartisan support for the fact that our military budget should not be cannibalized for our border security needs.”
Earlier this month, Trump issued the first veto of his presidency to block a measure passed by Democrats and Republicans in Congress that would https://jimheath.tv/2019/03/senate-rejects-trumps-border-emergency-declaration-12-republicans-rebuke-him/ his emergency declaration.
Despite the president’s claims, several Republican governors have ordered their National Guard troops to leave the border, saying there is no security crisis.
And many mayors of U.S. cities along the Southwest border say their communities are among the safest in the nation, citing FBI crime statistics and other measures.
Meanwhile, landowners at the US/Mexico border are preparing for a legal battle to stop Homeland Security from seizing their land via eminent domain.
Donald Trump Jr. tweeted in response to the Pentagon’s announcement:
Christmas came early this week. https://t.co/ypqkZgRkeR
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) March 26, 2019