Trump expresses disappointment that GOP Congress didn’t move faster on wall

by Jordain Carney - 02/15/19 11:43 AM ET

President Trump took a veiled shot at congressional Republicans on Friday, saying he was disappointed that Congress didn’t move faster on funding for the U.S.-Mexico border wall.

“I’m very disappointed in certain people, a particular one, for not having pushed this faster,” Trump said during a White House press conference on Friday.

{mosads}Asked if he was talking about former House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), Trump demurred.

“Let’s not talk about it. What difference does it make? They should have pushed it faster,” he said.

Trump has had a rollercoaster relationship with Ryan, who as Speaker of the then-GOP controlled House was responsible for helping push the party’s priorities through Congress.

The House passed a funding bill for the fiscal 2018 that included $1.6 billion for the border, including around $1.3 billion for fencing. Late last year House Republicans passed a continuing resolution (CR) that included more than $5 billion for the wall, but it didn’t clear the Senate.

It’s not the first time Trump has lashed out at Ryan to argue that he didn’t do enough to help construct the U.S.-Mexico border wall, which was a top campaign promise for the president.

Trump told The Daily Caller last month that Ryan went “lame duck” after he decided to retire after the 115th Congress.

“Well, I was going to veto the omnibus bill and Paul told me in the strongest of language, ‘Please don’t do that, we’ll get you the wall.’ And I said, ‘I hope you mean that, because I don’t like this bill,’ ” Trump told The Daily Caller.

He added that once Ryan “went lame duck, it was just really an exercise in waving to people, and the power was gone so I was very disappointed. I was very disappointed in Paul because the wall was so desperately needed.”

Tags Border wall Donald Trump Immigration Paul Ryan Shutdown