Larry O’Connor penned an opinion piece at The Washington Times. An excerpt of his latest article, “If steel tariffs are a matter of national security, surely a border wall is too”, is below:
Journalist Kate Brennan is reporting that Defense Secretary James Mattis is drafting plans to build President Trump’s long-promised border wall with Mexico by utilizing money from the Pentagon’s budget.
On Thursday, the Pentagon acknowledged that Mattis has had conversations with Trump on this topic, but would not provide any further details.
“What I can tell you is that the secretary has talked to the president about it, but I don’t have any specifics with respect to any more details,” Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White told reporters at a briefing.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment. When asked about it on Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said she couldn’t get into any specifics.
Trump is likely to be disappointed when he learns that thanks to the checks and balances built into the federal government, moving money around on a whim is not that easy. In fact, it’s usually illegal. The Pentagon has a little bit of wiggle room to move certain funds around without congressional approval, but generally, it must spend its money exactly the way in which Congress directs it.
This leaves only a few options for the Defense Department to redirect money legally to pay for Trump’s wall. It is now busy drafting those choices for the president, with Pentagon lawyers playing a pivotal role in the process. [Read More]
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