Pentagon Begins Plan To Fund Border Wall By Delaying Military Projects
The Pentagon is moving forward with the Trump administration’s plan to move billions of dollars away from military projects to fund the construction of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, according to reports from Politico, The Washington Post and CNN.
Secretary of Defense Mark Esper on Tuesday officially authorized the transfer of up to $3.6 billion from the Pentagon to fund 11 construction projects along the border, according to a letter obtained by CNN.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) confirmed he received news of the authorization on Twitter.
Today Defense Secretary Mark Esper notified me that the Department of Defense will reprogram $3.6 billion in funds appropriated for military construction projects, including at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, in order to build @realDonaldTrump 's misguided border wall.
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) September 3, 2019
Starting Wednesday, the Post reported, Pentagon officials will notify lawmakers of districts where there are military construction projects that will be affected by the diversion of funds.
There are 127 Department of Defense projects that will be affected by this move, with $1.8 billion in funding coming from projects outside the U.S. and another $1.8 billion from projects within the U.S., Politico reported, citing a Pentagon official.
In February, President Donald Trump declared a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border to sidestep Congress and secure money to build the border wall in an attempt to thwart illegal immigration, despite initial promises that Mexico would be paying for the wall’s construction.
The emergency declaration allowed Trump to divert government money from other projects to fund the wall. The effort faced legal challenges, though the Supreme Court ruled in Trump’s favor in July, allowing his administration to redirect the military funds.
After being notified of the Pentagon’s authorization on Tuesday, Schumer called the funding diversion a “slap in the face to the members of the Armed Forces.”
Trump “is willing to cannibalize already allocated military funding to boost his own ego, and for a wall he promised Mexico would pay to build.”
It is a slap in the face to the members of the Armed Forces who serve our country that @realDonaldTrump is willing to cannibalize already allocated military funding to boost his own ego, and for a wall he promised Mexico would pay to build. https://t.co/sv2ys87bw1
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) September 3, 2019
Related Coverage
Supreme Court Says Trump Can Use Defense Funds For Border Wall
Trump Offers Pardons To Aides Who Will Fast-Track Wall Before Election Day: Report
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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.