Administration

Trump to ask for $2B for border wall

by Rebecca Klar 02/09/20 02:27 PM CST

The Trump administration plans to ask for $2 billion in new border wall construction funding, senior administration officials confirmed.

The White House will officially release its budget proposal Monday.

The $2 billion request is far less than the amount the White House sought for border wall funding last year, when the Trump administration asked for $5 billion for the wall on top of $3.6 billion to replenish funding for military construction projects the administration shifted for border wall construction.

This year’s request does not include any money to reimburse the military, though the White House maintains Trump’s authority to reprogram funds again.

The Democratic-controlled House is unlikely to give Trump the amount he requests, but the amount is significantly closer to the $1.375 billion Congress has agreed to allocate in recent years.

The smaller request reflects that the administration needs fewer resources to build Trump’s proposed border wall with the Mexican border, as it has met its funding goals by shifting money from the military toward construction.

All in all, the official noted, the White House has racked up $18 billion in funding for the wall, which they estimated was enough for 1,000 miles, though only 100 have been built.

“This $2 billion is another 82 miles on top of that 1,000,” the official said.

Trump refused to sign a spending bill last year after Congress denied him the $5 billion in wall funding he requested. It resulted in the nation’s longest government shutdown, stretching more than a month.

Trump then declared a state of emergency last February, which allowed him to move money allocated for military projects to his signature border wall.