Trump Slump: Trump Pushes for Only One Fifth of Border Wall Funding

[Anti Federalist]

Trump Pushes for Only One Fifth of Border Wall Funding

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2018/11/28/trump-pushes-for-only-one-fifth-of-border-wall-funding/

28 Nov 2018

President Trump is pushing the Republican-controlled Congress to approve only a fifth of the money needed to build his $25 billion border wall, all of which is currently tied to a slew of open borders provisions.

In an interview with Politico, Trump said he would be “willing” to shut down the federal government if a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding bill does not include a measly $5 billion for his proposed wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

“I am firm,” Trump said when asked if he would budge on the $5 billion in border wall funding.

In March, Trump said he would never sign another spending bill that did not include a single provision from his 70-point list of pro-American immigration reforms — where a border wall is only the beginning.

Over the course of the Politico interview, Trump does not make clear whether or not he would be willing to sign off on a number of open borders provisions in order to secure the $5 billion in border wall funding.

As Breitbart News has chronicled, the current DHS spending package ties $5 billion in border wall funds to a variety of cheap-labor giveaways to the big business lobby, the outsourcing industry, and the open borders lobby, including:

A quasi-amnesty for DACA illegal aliens
A revival of Obama’s catch and release policy
A right to migrate for all foreign nationals claiming to flee gang violence or domestic abuse
A green card giveaway for at least 200,000 Indian nationals
A tripling of the H-2B visa program to further outsource American jobs
An expansion of the H-2A visa program to allow farmers to import more foreign workers
The DHS spending bill does not include any additional funding for the Border Patrol to effectively detain illegal aliens without releasing them into the American general public.

The bill also does not provide Trump with the funding for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency to hire an additional 1,000 ICE agents. Trump has said for more than a year that he wants to increase the number of ICE agents, but the GOP Congress has failed to provide the funding.

Trump’s push for only a fifth of border wall funding comes as Democrats are set to take the majority in the House in the new year and as illegal immigration soars at the U.S.-Mexico border with a caravan of 7,000 to 10,000 Central Americans arriving.

October 2018 saw nearly 51,000 illegal aliens apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border with family unit crossings almost doubling what they were in October 2016, under President Obama. More than 23,000 family units crossed the southern border last month, compared to about 13,100 crossing in October 2016.

Last month’s illegal immigration totals at the southern border were so high that not since 2007 has the country seen this much illegal immigration in October. In October 2007, there were about 51,300 southwest border crossers.

[Swordsmyth]

They won't even give him that.

[kpitcher]

It's a smaller amount of money for Mexico to pay for, time for the expert negotiator to get negotiating.

[acptulsa]

It's a smaller amount of money for Mexico to pay for, time for the expert negotiator to get negotiating.

This. Since he never intended for the U.S. to pay for the wall, he has to be threatening to shut down the Mexican government, right? Well--let him try!

[enhanced_deficit]

They won't even give him that.

Could it be MAGA is banking on Mexico to pay for it?

MAGA is reportedly sending a very highly level delegate to Mexico this week.

Mexico's Highest award to be given to Trump son-in-law this week (http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?528775-Mexico-s-Highest-award-for-Trump-son-in-law-Senator-blames-Trump-policies-for-GM-plants-shut&)

[Brian4Liberty]

Pathetic negotiation. $5 billion is enough to repair/extend border protection in places that need it. But the concessions are pure swamp crony corporatism. Catering to inside special interests.

[Brian4Liberty]

Here’s a concession. Eliminate the majority of welfare and government giveaways that draw immigrants, and only spend money to repair/extend border in critical places? Maybe $1 billion for that. Eliminate internal checkpoints and move that spending to the actual border.

[Slave Mentality]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esp-ruhkZqQ

Keep printing this fiat currency and we will be looking to go to Venezuela before long. You better watch how these people are treated. Karma is a bitch.

[Ender]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esp-ruhkZqQ

Keep printing this fiat currency and we will be looking to go to Venezuela before long. You better watch how these people are treated. Karma is a bitch.

'Zactly.

[Ender]

Here’s a concession. Eliminate the majority of welfare and government giveaways that draw immigrants, and only spend money to repair/extend border in critical places? Maybe $1 billion for that. Eliminate internal checkpoints and move that spending to the actual border.

Stop making sense, Brian!:speaknoevil:

[euphemia]

if the border wall is only designed to keep us in, that would only mean it keeps in those who wish to travel to Mexico or parts south, and then only if they wish to walk, not drive across at established checkpoints. People will still fly or cruise to Mexico.

I have no wish to travel there. Problem solved for me.

And sheesh, people who threatened to move out of Trump was elected. You can’t blast them out with a water cannon. They aren’t being held in by any wall. They like it here and don’t want to pay even higher taxes they would pay to some other government. Or maybe the other countries don’t want them.

The Nanny State is always a problem. End it now.

[enhanced_deficit]

They won't even give him that.

Also such low confidence in MAGA's deal making skills? Pelosi is not better at negotiations than MAGA.

Such comments could bolster fakenews madia narratives about MAGA and art of negotiations and deal making.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pxPDOvmrns
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pxPDOvmrns

[Swordsmyth]

Also such low confidence in MAGA's deal making skills? Pelosi is not better at negotiations than MAGA.

Such comments could bolster fakenews madia narratives about MAGA and art of negotiations and deal making.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pxPDOvmrns
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pxPDOvmrns
It has nothing to do with his negotiating skills it has to do with the fact that the Demoncrats will gladly shut down the government forever, blame Trump and launch a communist uprising before they will ever agree to one drop of improved border/immigration control.

[Zippyjuan]

It has nothing to do with his negotiating skills it has to do with the fact that the Demoncrats will gladly shut down the government forever, blame Trump and launch a communist uprising before they will ever agree to one drop of improved border/immigration control.

Shutdown over the wall (should it happen) would only include those in the funding bill. Most of the government is funded until next October. The departments which would be covered? Homeland security mostly. Plus Justice and State. It won't lead to a communist uprising. But it will require support from Democrats in the Senate since they can't use "reconciliation" on the bill- meaning it takes 60 votes to avoid any filibusters on the issue so with 51 Republicans currently in the Senate they need all of those plus nine Dems.

[Swordsmyth]

Shutdown over the wall (should it happen) would only include those in the funding bill. Most of the government is funded until next October. The departments which would be covered? Homeland security mostly. Plus Justice and State. It won't lead to a communist uprising.
They will happily keep the shutdown going forever until they can get a communist uprising or a bill without border security and there are enough RINOs to help them in the current Congress.

[Zippyjuan]

They will happily keep the shutdown going forever until they can get a communist uprising or a bill without border security and there are enough RINOs to help them in the current Congress.

Everybody is a commie or RHINO.


A new poll from Morning Consult found that 55 percent of registered voters opposed shutting the government down over funding for the wall, while only 31 percent supported it.

Among Republicans, however, just below half supported a shutdown for the wall, while 34 percent opposed it.

Respondents also chose funding the wall last on a list of 10 priorities for the next Congress, behind health care, infrastructure, reforming mandatory spending programs and passing immigration reform.

https://thehill.com/policy/finance/417929-trumps-last-best-chance-for-wall-creates-latest-shutdown-threat


https://www.upi.com/Poll-Most-Americans-against-constructing-more-border-walls/7871529536373/


Poll: Most Americans against constructing more border walls

A majority of Americans oppose significantly expanding the construction of new walls along the U.S.-Mexico border, a Gallup poll released Wednesday indicates.

The poll found 57 percent were opposed to the idea of constructing new walls along the nearly 2,000-mile border, which currently has about 650 miles of fences and walls. Forty-one percent of those polled were in favor of building new walls.

Although the majority of those polled were opposed to building new walls, Republicans were overwhelmingly in favor of the idea, which has been pushed by President Donald Trump. Seventy-three percent of Republicans want more border barriers, while 13 percent of Democrats agreed.

On the question of whether undocumented immigrants who were brought to the country as children should be allowed to become U.S. citizens "if they meet certain requirements over a period of time," there was more bipartisan agreement.

Eighty-three percent were in favor of a pathway to citizenship for these immigrants, with 92 percent of Democrats and 75 percent of Republicans in agreement.

[Swordsmyth]

Everybody is a commie or RHINO.
Most are, that is why this country is in such bad shape.

[Zippyjuan]

Most are, that is why this country is in such bad shape.

Millions of people would gladly trade places with you. Since things are so bad here, maybe you should take them up on it.

[Swordsmyth]

Millions of people would gladly trade places with you.
The frying pan is better than the fire but that doesn't mean it is a good place to be.

[enhanced_deficit]

Straight out of 3D art of the deal, MAGA throws a curve ball to Dem negotiators:


White House: Trump would accept less money for border wall



Houston Herald
11 hrs ago


https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/houstonherald.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/7/d1/7d17d256-091c-11e9-b85c-8723e72f23e5/5c2393cade91d.image.jpg?resize=400%2C225

Democrats have held firm in opposition to a border wall, which Trump promised his political base would build.



A top White House official signaled Sunday that President Donald Trump is willing to accept less money than he’s been demanding to build a U.S.-Mexico border wall, but a senior congressional Democrat said that, while their own offer could be sweetened, they still will not agree to a wall.


The back and forth across the television airwaves did little to inspire hope that a Christmas season closure of some federal government operations would end later this week, when the House and Senate are scheduled to meet again.

In fact, acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney warned that the shutdown could stretch into January, when a new Congress is seated.

https://www.houstonherald.com/news/white-house-trump-would-accept-less-money-for-border-wall/article_6d7b2be0-091c-11e9-843c-27c3db1ca963.html

[Swordsmyth]

Straight out of 3D art of the deal, MAGA throws a curve ball to Dem negotiators:



https://www.houstonherald.com/news/white-house-trump-would-accept-less-money-for-border-wall/article_6d7b2be0-091c-11e9-843c-27c3db1ca963.html

He knows they won't give him one dime and he is making them look like the unreasonable ones (which they are) before he uses money from the military budget or other places where the appropriation is vague enough.

[Zippyjuan]

Straight out of 3D art of the deal, MAGA throws a curve ball to Dem negotiators:



https://www.houstonherald.com/news/white-house-trump-would-accept-less-money-for-border-wall/article_6d7b2be0-091c-11e9-843c-27c3db1ca963.html

If the country doesn't have a wall to protect it, what is that in the picture?

[Swordsmyth]

If the country doesn't have a wall to protect it, what is that in the picture?
How much of the border does it cover?

[Zippyjuan]

How much of the border does it cover?

654 miles from San Diego to El Paso. There are some gaps in the middle of deserts or on mountains.

https://amp.businessinsider.com/images/5aeb834119ee862a008b4833-960-452.png

https://www.businessinsider.com/us-mexico-border-wall-photos-maps-2018-5

[Swordsmyth]

654 miles from San Diego to El Paso. There are some gaps in the middle of deserts or on mountains.

https://amp.businessinsider.com/images/5aeb834119ee862a008b4833-960-452.png

https://www.businessinsider.com/us-mexico-border-wall-photos-maps-2018-5

How much of it is built to what standards?

[Zippyjuan]

How much of it is built to what standards?

See the link. Including renovating existing barriers, Trump is only asking to cover 500 miles.

He wants it three stories high and finished by election day 2020.


"That's a big stretch, because we're talking about 500 to 550 miles. It's a 2,000-mile border but much of it has mountain and region where you can't get across," Trump said. "So we're getting it between 500 and 550 (miles). And we gave out 115 yesterday, and we gave it out (the contracts) at a great price. So we're going to have great wall there and we have other sections to give out."

Trump added that he wants to have the wall in place "by election time," apparently referring to November 2020 when he is up for re-election.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-digs-wall-shutdown-n951806

[Swordsmyth]

See the link.
Then it isn't all up to the standards of Trump's wall is it?
And it doesn't cover the whole border does it?

[Zippyjuan]

Then it isn't all up to the standards of Trump's wall is it?
And it doesn't cover the whole border does it?

Trump's wall won't either. He keeps making his plans smaller and smaller. It was going to cover the entire border. Now, including renovated sections, he only is seeking 500 miles worth. He also cut his request from $25 billion to $5 billion. Accept anything he can get (no matter how small) and declare victory and promise kept. Even if it isn't really kept. 650 miles already existing exceeds his latest goals (announced Christmas).


"That's a big stretch, because we're talking about 500 to 550 miles. It's a 2,000-mile border but much of it has mountain and region where you can't get across," Trump said. "So we're getting it between 500 and 550 (miles). And we gave out 115 yesterday, and we gave it out (the contracts) at a great price. So we're going to have great wall there and we have other sections to give out."

Trump added that he wants to have the wall in place "by election time," apparently referring to November 2020 when he is up for re-election.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-digs-wall-shutdown-n951806

[Swordsmyth]

Trump's wall won't either.



https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-digs-wall-shutdown-n951806
It will cover more than is covered now even IF that is all that gets built but that is just how much he is saying will get built by November 2020.

[Zippyjuan]

It will cover more than is covered now even IF that is all that gets built but that is just how much he is saying will get built by November 2020.

The figure includes updating existing sections. Not 500 miles of all new wall. He claimed he gave out a contract for 100 miles but nobody seems to know what in the heck he is talking about.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-brags-about-contract-for-wall-texas-blames-dems-for-partial-shutdown


A March bill included money for 33 miles of barrier construction in South Texas’ Rio Grande Valley, but work there has yet to begin.

Customs and Border Protection announced in early November a $145 million construction project was awarded to build roughly six miles of border wall in Texas. The agency, in conjunction with the Army Corps of Engineers, gave the multimillion-dollar job in the Border Patrol’s Rio Grande Valley Sector to SLSCO, which is expected to kick off in February.

Other work has merely replaced existing barriers that had been deemed “ineffective,” not added miles.

[Swordsmyth]

The figure includes updating existing sections. Not 500 miles of all new wall.

I should believe you?

[Zippyjuan]

I should believe you?

It is what Trump says. I don't believe him either. Thought you didn't care about the wall anyways.

[Swordsmyth]

It is what Trump says. I don't believe him either.
No it isn't what he says.



Thought you didn't care about the wall anyways.
I care about exposing you.

[Zippyjuan]

https://www.apnews.com/fdb90c0d40254665982271e12254a65e


TRUMP, asked Tuesday morning about the wall and his Christmas Eve tweet: “Yesterday, I gave out 115 miles’ worth of wall, 115 miles in Texas. It’s going to be built, hopefully rapidly. I’m going there at the end of January for the start of construction.”

THE FACTS: Trump can’t award construction contracts. U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers award contracts for border wall construction after Congress approves funding and months have gone into planning.

In March, Congress approved funding for 33 miles (53 kilometers) of construction in South Texas’ Rio Grande Valley, the busiest corridor for illegal border crossings.

CBP announced in November that construction in the Rio Grande Valley would begin in February. Targeted areas include the nonprofit National Butterfly Center, a state park and privately owned ranches and farmland.

Trump’s statement that he plans to visit the site at the end of January suggests he may be referring to this previously announced construction.


TRUMP, speaking Tuesday: “We gave out 115 yesterday, and we gave it out at a great price.”

THE FACTS: It’s unclear where the figure of 115 miles is coming from.

According to DHS , the March funding from Congress will pay for 84 miles (135 kilometers) along the southern border, including the 33 miles (53 kilometers) for Texas. And if the Trump administration gets the $5 billion it’s requested, DHS says it would build 215 miles (346 kilometers) that it considers the “highest priority,” include 159 miles (256 kilometers) in Texas.



So IF he gets his $5 billion, they may build 215 miles of fencing along the 2000 mile border. Less than half of even the 500 miles he claims.

[Swordsmyth]

https://www.apnews.com/fdb90c0d40254665982271e12254a65e
All he has to do is find funding that Congress has approved with vague enough language that he can order the executive branch to use for the wall.

[Zippyjuan]

All he has to do is find funding that Congress has approved with vague enough language that he can order the executive branch to use for the wall.

Why the fuss over the shutdown then if he doesn't need any money to build his wall?

Huckabee Sanders says they will take anything they can get at this point.

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2018/12/18/sanders_we_have_other_ways_to_get_5_billion_wall_f unding.html


We would take – we have other ways that we can get to the $5 billion that we will work with Congress, if they will make sure that we get a bill passed that provide, not just the funding for the wall but there’s a piece of legislation that’s been pushed around that Democrats actually voted 26 to five out of committee that provides 26, roughly $26 billion in border security, including $1.6 billion for the wall. That’s something that we would be able to support as long as we can couple that with other funding resources that would help us get to the $5 billion.

Get anything and declare Victory and Promise Kept. Even if it less than seven percent of what you actually wanted.


“We have other ways that we can get to that $5 billion. At the end of the day, we don’t want to shut down the government, we want to shut down the border,” Sanders told Fox News.

[Swordsmyth]

Why the fuss over the shutdown then if he doesn't need any money to build his wall?

Huckabee Sanders says they will take anything they can get at this point.

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2018/12/18/sanders_we_have_other_ways_to_get_5_billion_wall_f unding.html



Get anything and declare Victory and Promise Kept. Even if it less than seven percent of what you actually wanted.
The point is to prove that they won't give him a dime because they are traitors who support the invasion, then he will use the money already allocated in the budget as explained.

[Zippyjuan]

The point is to prove that they won't give him a dime because they are traitors who support the invasion, then he will use the money already allocated in the budget as explained.

They have not explained how they can pay for it if Congress does not. Just back-pedaling on their demands. He has had his own party in control for two years and has been unable to get funding.

[Swordsmyth]

They have not explained how they can pay for it if Congress does not. Just back-pedaling on their demands. He has had his own party in control for two years and has been unable to get funding.
I explained it.

[Zippyjuan]

https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/12/18/trump-seeks-funds-to-redirect-to-wall-move-could-be-illegal/


Trump seeks funds to redirect to wall; move could be illegal

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has directed his cabinet secretaries to search for any stray funds that could be repurposed for the construction of a wall along the Mexico border, conceding that Democrats have stymied his efforts in Congress.

But his new approach sets up more budget and political battles, as it’s very difficult to legally redirect taxpayer money without Congress’ approval.

“If you do this without going through the proper reprogramming requests and getting all the proper approvals, you are breaking the law,” said Todd Harrison, director of defense budget analysis at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

A similar assessment was shared by some Democrats and Republicans on Tuesday, but White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said lawyers were reviewing what was possible.

“That’s their entire job is determining whether or something is legal and we are looking to those individuals to find out those specific pots of money that can be used for that,” she said.

The rapidly changing approach reflects a scramble by Trump aides to deliver on one of his core campaign promises without much assistance from Congress. The White House hasn’t settled on a plan for funding a border wall, and Republicans haven’t devised a way to obtain even a small portion of the spending Trump has demanded.

This has led to complaints from supporters of new restrictions on immigration that the White House fumbled one of their top priorities and never had a plan on how to proceed.

Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, said Trump has repeatedly threatened to fight Democrats over border wall funding only to back down at the last minute, making clear to Democrats that he would capitulate again.

“I think this really undermines the president’s credibility,” said Krikorian, whose think tank has broad influence inside the Trump administration and favors tight restrictions on immigration. “Why didn’t he go to the mattresses the first time this became an issue?”

The Constitution requires Congress’s approval before money can be allocated and spent, which has made it difficult for Trump to secure money for a border wall so far.



Mexico was going to pay for it. New NAFTA was going to pay for it. The Shutdown Money (whatever that is) was going to pay for it. Now he is looking in the mattress to see if he can find enough quarters to pay for it. The whole thing has been a big joke.


The federal government is projected to spend more than $4 trillion this year, and the $5 billion sought by the White House for a border wall represents less than 0.1 percent of that. But even moving around that amount of money could be considered illegal without congressional approval.

“This is pretty tricky business,” said Elaine Kamarck, a former top Clinton White House official. She said agencies can occasionally move around smaller sums of money without congressional input, but never anywhere near the amount the Trump administration is trying to secure.

Congress has already passed a defense law to fund the military through the end of September, making it hard for lawmakers to siphon off any money that is already allocated for military programs. Funding for the Department of Homeland Security expires on Friday at midnight, but Democrats are closely monitoring any new request for that agency in order to prevent it from being used for a wall.

“I think our appropriations process restricts the wall, so I don’t see how he does it legally,” said Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md.

Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., said the White House could be looking for any money in other agencies that was specified to be used for “border security” but otherwise would come up short.

“If they have authority to deal with border security, they can spend the money,” he said. “If they don’t have congressional authority, they can’t.”


https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/27/trump-privately-proposed-military-funding-for-border-wall-report.html


The president signed a $1.3 trillion spending bill that included a massive military funding increase last week, despite his unhappiness with the amount of money it put toward border security. Trump wanted as much as $25 billion for his wall project, but the legislation authorized only $1.6 billion for fencing, surveillance technology and other measures.

Congress would likely need to redirect money from the current Defense budget to the wall project, which is unlikely to happen, according to the Post report. As a candidate, Trump repeatedly promised Mexico would fund the wall, but he has backed off those pledges in office, seeking federal money.

[Zippyjuan]

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/3/30/17177544/donald-trump-pentagon-military-fund-border-wall


No, Donald Trump can’t just use Pentagon money for his border wall

Congress didn’t give President Donald Trump money for his border wall — and Mexico certainly isn’t paying for it — so now he’s asking his administration to go to legally questionable lengths to fund it anyway.

Trump has spoken with Secretary of Defense James Mattis about using Department of Defense money for the border wall, Pentagon spokesperson Dana White confirmed Thursday. The president reportedly noted that the Pentagon was getting so much money in Congress’s $1.3 trillion omnibus spending bill that it could surely afford the border wall, according to the Washington Post.

To be perfectly clear: This is not how government spending works.

Congress just passed a massive spending package — that Trump signed — boosting military and domestic funding on March 23. That spending bill allocated $1.6 billion for the border wall through the Department of Homeland Security, with specific instructions that those funds had to go toward repairing existing fencing or toward double fencing where barriers already exist. In other words, Trump’s “big, beautiful” wall did not get funding.

And while the Pentagon received $700 billion as part of Congress’s government funding package, putting funding for the military at historic levels, that’s not a blank check to the Pentagon. That money is appropriated to specific programs — and spending it for the border wall instead could be illegal.

Despite this, Mattis seems to be humoring the president’s demands and coming up with some options to fund the border wall through the military. Most of these options will likely carry legal concerns and bear big political risks. And they will still fail to bring Trump close to the $25 billion funding level he wants for his wall.

Government spending, very quickly explained for Donald Trump

A quick civics primer: The legislative branch of government manages the nation’s purse strings, allocating money to federal agencies and authorizing how those funds can be used. It’s in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution: Congress has the power ”to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defense and General Welfare of the United States.”

“Every line item is subject to tons of legislative, authorizing, and regulatory language with strict limitations on transfers and re-programmings,” Matthew Dennis, the Democratic spokesperson with the House Appropriations Committee, said.

And using federal funds for anything other than what Congress appropriates them for is illegal under that the Antideficiency Act, which was enacted in 1870.

In other words, Trump can’t simply call on the Department of Defense to use its excess money for his border wall. Even the Overseas Contingency Operations fund, the Pentagon’s emergency fund which can be used for “a future event or circumstance that is possible but cannot be predicted with certainty,” often derided as a “slush fund,” isn’t a blank check. Some amounts can be shifted, but like appropriations bill, all of that funding is also regulated and authorized by Congress.

It should be noted that going against Congress on government spending isn’t impossible — just extremely difficult, and carries the risk of legal and political backlash. So much so that an exclusive report in Just Security said few in Trump’s administration think using the Pentagon’s money for the border wall is a good idea — including Mattis. Nevertheless, the administration is exploring the idea.

If Trump is serious about this, he has some options. They’re questionable.

The Department of Defense has some room to move money around, but they all open Trump’s administration to legal challenges and political backlash and wouldn’t actually get Trump much closer to his $25 billion ask to fund the wall.

One option reportedly under consideration is using some of the counternarcotics funding, which sits at just over $500 million, Just Security’s Kate Brannen writes:

In theory, the White House could make the argument that building a border wall with Mexico is for such purposes. However, the Pentagon’s funding is explicitly for counternarcotics operating programs, not construction. While it’s not explicitly prohibited to use the funding for construction, it’s likely Congress would be furious if it was spent this way.

Even though tapping into that fund would not need congressional approval, using only part of a $500 million fund wouldn’t get that much mileage on the border. For context, Congress appropriated $445 million for 25 miles of levee fencing in the Rio Grande Valley and $251 million to replace 14 miles of existing secondary fencing in the San Diego sector.

The second option is using the emergency Military Construction, MILCON, funding. Up to $50 million can be used without congressional approval in cases of national security or to protect US military officers. As Brannen writes, “using MILCON funding is also guaranteed to make members of Congress particularly angry, because it would be the military construction projects in their districts that would be directly losing money to the wall.”

As William C. Banks, a Syracuse University law professor pointed out in the New York Times last year, there are two other laws give Trump some wiggle room to move money around: the Economy Act of 1932, which could authorizes federal agencies to exchange supplies or services, and the Feed and Forage Act, a 1799 law which allowed the military to buy essential supplies like clothing or medicine. But according to the New York Times, “such an accounting trick has never been used to go around Congress on such a large scale, Mr. Banks said.”

In all, the options available to the Department of Defense and Trump are extremely limited in scope. And they all run the risk of going against Congress specifically for a project Republicans haven’t prioritized.

The spending bill largely ignored Trump’s immigration agenda, mostly because Republicans have an entirely different one

There’s no question that Congress’s spending bill does not reflect the hardline immigration agenda President Trump and his White House have long espoused.

As Vox’s Dara Lind writes, not only did Trump get very little of what he asked for, but “Congress is actually making an effort to rein in the Trump administration’s overspending on immigration detention instead of expanding it.”

Instead, in every spending fight since Trump took office, Republicans have repeatedly made clear that the wall and restrictionist immigration policy aren’t among their spending priorities.

This time the border wall did get some funding — $1.6 billion worth — which is much less than the $25 billion the White House asked for and came with a lot of strings attached; most of the funding will have to go toward repairing existing fencing or toward double fencing where barriers already exist.

On enforcement, Republicans, who went into spending fight wanting more funding for the Department of Homeland Security to increase the number of beds for immigrant detainees and to expand the enforcement force, settled for more modest spending measures.

The final compromise included funding for only an additional 328 Customs and Border Protection officers, and ICE will actually have to reduce the number of detention beds. Needless to say, this isn’t the kind of deportation force Trump’s administration was envisioning. The bill also does not defund so-called “sanctuary cities,” something the White House specifically called on Congress to do.

Trump was so unhappy with the final spending package, he threatened to veto the bill altogether and shut down the government, but was walked off the ledge in the final hours.

Now, he seems to recognize that Congress won’t help him get the border wall and going around the legislative branch isn’t so easy.

[Swordsmyth]

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/3/30/17177544/donald-trump-pentagon-military-fund-border-wall
This is just one example:

The Department of Agriculture has about $200 billion in outstanding loans (http://www.caes.uga.edu/news-events/news/story.html?storyid=5637&story=USDA%20Grant) for rural development projects such as community buildings, bridges, roads, fire stations, police stations, water projects and barriers such as fencing and walls. These federal loans to local communities have low default rates that are attractive to private-sector investors because they represent large, reliable cash flows — the kind of investments that big money funds desperately desire.

About $50-100 billion worth currently held by USDA are very marketable and attractive commercial paper investments. The rights to collect the remainder of the debt on these loans could be sold to private parties who would pay a premium for such a steady stream of cash payments. The sales would give a profit cushion to the government and alleviate taxpayers from any future risk of nonpayment while retaining certain borrower guarantees.
For example, Trump could authorize the sale of $10 billion of USDA rural water loans on the secondary market, which could bring in a lump sum payment of $12 billion or more. Revenue from these proceeds could be directed to build the border wall.
Legal authority comes from many angles. Obama stimulus loans (approximately $2-$5 billion) could be separated out and used because they involved “no year” money, meaning the funds don’t expire if not spent in a certain time frame. The president could tap into USDA’s Community Facilities Program (https://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/all-programs/community-facilities-programs)s money if recouped funds from the sale were used for new loans to cooperating communities on the border, such as in Texas.


Another option would be to utilize funds in the same way USDA undertakes in-kind swaps with private parties to the tune of hundreds of millions (https://www.fsa.usda.gov/Assets/USDA-FSA-Public/usdafiles/AboutFSA/CCC/ccc_fact_sheet.pdf)of dollars worth of commodities and services. This would entail swapping the proceeds of the commercial paper sales for the wall, with construction companies being the counterparties.
These are only a few creative funding avenues that could be explored, some less complicated than others. Such an aggressive approach is a sure way for Trump to regain the initiative and get the attention of lawmakers who have an interest in killing any threat to their control over spending, thus giving the president leverage in negotiations as pressure mounts to end the shutdown.

Minus an 11th-hour deal in the Senate, the only way a border wall will get built is if the president uses executive power to do it. He has the funds available and the authority to build the wall on his own. The only question is whether President Trump will finally start taking advice from those who actually support his goals rather than continuing to trust the internal obstructionists.

More at: https://news.yahoo.com/donald-trump-...081508770.html (https://news.yahoo.com/donald-trump-fund-border-wall-081508770.html)

[TheCount]

This. Since he never intended for the U.S. to pay for the wall, he has to be threatening to shut down the Mexican government, right? Well--let him try!
We should've taken Iraq's oil, so why shouldn't we invade Mexico to take $25 B worth of assets in exchange for the wall that they owe us?

[Superfluous Man]

Eliminate internal checkpoints and move that spending to the actual border.

But if the goal is actual curtailment of illegal immigration, then internal monitoring of all present in the nation is a far more effective and necessary tool than anything done at the border itself.

[Superfluous Man]

"...we want to shut down the border,” Sanders told Fox News.

This is a revealing quote and a good one to keep on hand.

I commend her honesty. Enough with these vague euphemisms about merely "securing" the border and lies to the effect that they're not against immigration, but just want people to do it the right way. Shutting it down is what they want.

[Ender]

This is a revealing quote and a good one to keep on hand.

I commend her honesty. Enough with these vague euphemisms about merely "securing" the border and lies to the effect that they're not against immigration, but just want people to do it the right way. Shutting it down is what they want.

Yep.

The wall has always been more about keeping Americans "in"- not dem dirty immigrunts "out".

[AuH20]

Yep.

The wall has always been more about keeping Americans "in"- not dem dirty immigrunts "out".

If so, they would have drafted it into the Patriot Act.

[Zippyjuan]

This is a revealing quote and a good one to keep on hand.

I commend her honesty. Enough with these vague euphemisms about merely "securing" the border and lies to the effect that they're not against immigration, but just want people to do it the right way. Shutting it down is what they want.

Trump raises rhetoric- threatens to shut the entire southern border if he doesn't get what he wants. More tantrums.

https://abc7chicago.com/politics/president-trump-threatens-to-shut-down-entire-border-with-mexico/4980601/


President Trump threatens to shut down entire border with Mexico

WASHINGTON -- The partial government shutdown will almost certainly be handed off to a divided government to solve in the new year - the first big confrontation between President Donald Trump and newly empowered Democrats - as agreement eludes Washington in the waning days of the Republican monopoly on power.

Now nearly a week old, the impasse is idling hundreds of thousands of federal workers and beginning to pinch citizens who count on varied public services. Gates are closed at some national parks, the government won't issue new federal flood insurance policies and in New York, the chief judge of Manhattan federal courts suspended work on civil cases involving U.S. government lawyers, including several civil lawsuits in which Trump himself is a defendant.

Congress is closing out the week without a resolution in sight over the issue holding up an agreement - Trump's demand for money to build a border wall with Mexico and Democrats' refusal to give him what he wants.

That sets up a struggle upfront when Democrats take control of the House on Jan. 3.

Trump raised the stakes on Friday, reissuing threats to shut the U.S.-Mexico border to pressure Congress to fund the wall and to cease aid to three Central American countries from which many migrants have fled.

1078625779670503426



"Mexico will pay for the wall." "NAFTA will pay for the wall." "Shut down money will pay for the wall". "We have the money for the wall and it is already under construction." His story keeps changing.

1077329121745793025

[enhanced_deficit]

Trump Pushes for Only One Fifth of Border Wall Funding

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2018/11/28/trump-pushes-for-only-one-fifth-of-border-wall-funding/

28 Nov 2018




New lowered funding ask is then for One Tenth of the Wall?

Trump reportedly willing to accept $2.5 billion for border wall

December 28, 2018
CNBC’s chief Washington correspondent John Harwood weighs in on reports that President Trump is lowering his $5 billion demand for border wall funding: "We are moving toward a situation where he ends up backing down."





Related

Wall funding demand lowered to half; Dangerous conspiracy theories claim MAGA is a fake frontgroup (http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?529748-MAGA-reportedly-lowers-Wall-funding-demand-to-half-Dangerous-conspiracy-theories-on-Right)

[AZJoe]

Mexico will get its border wall, and the United State will pay for it.

[Zippyjuan]

High Tech worthless "bells and whistles" in protecting the border.

1079902957938925568

Mexico (and Canada?) going to pay for the wall through NAFTA.

1079900120047603713

So if Mexico is still going to pay for it, why do US Taxpayers need to pay for it?

1080109395357380613

No, it will be paid for with "shutdown money" and money "already on hand". We don't need Congress.

1077250139503452162

The wall will be all concrete.

1079721675346923520

"Fake news" says it will be steel slats. No- that was Trump saying that.

1076239448461987841

Immigrants, criminals, and drugs flowing across our open border. Or not. The border is "tight".

1075732375169060869

It isn't about the wall. It is about getting a "win".

1078412737603096576

[Zippyjuan]

1080129307446513666

We need more Open Borders! Democrats don't care about Open Borders! We need more drugs and crime!

[Swordsmyth]

1080129307446513666

We need more Open Borders! Democrats don't care about Open Borders!
:upsidedown:The world turned upside down again:upsidedown:

Did your mother stand on her head too often before you were born?

[enhanced_deficit]

Latest number is "55 miles" :


11 hours ago

Lawmakers reach 'agreement in principle' in border security talks, with $1.3B for barrier

Sources tell Fox News the $1.3 billion can be used only for new construction that would cover approximately 55 miles of border territory in the Rio Grande Valley.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/law...3b-for-barrier (https://www.foxnews.com/politics/lawmakers-reach-agreement-in-principle-on-border-security-talks-with-13b-for-barrier)

[shakey1]

Here’s a concession. Eliminate the majority of welfare and government giveaways that draw immigrants, and only spend money to repair/extend border in critical places? Maybe $1 billion for that. Eliminate internal checkpoints and move that spending to the actual border.

:directhit:

[oyarde]

This is just one example:

The Department of Agriculture has about $200 billion in outstanding loans (http://www.caes.uga.edu/news-events/news/story.html?storyid=5637&story=USDA%20Grant) for rural development projects such as community buildings, bridges, roads, fire stations, police stations, water projects and barriers such as fencing and walls. These federal loans to local communities have low default rates that are attractive to private-sector investors because they represent large, reliable cash flows — the kind of investments that big money funds desperately desire.

About $50-100 billion worth currently held by USDA are very marketable and attractive commercial paper investments. The rights to collect the remainder of the debt on these loans could be sold to private parties who would pay a premium for such a steady stream of cash payments. The sales would give a profit cushion to the government and alleviate taxpayers from any future risk of nonpayment while retaining certain borrower guarantees.
For example, Trump could authorize the sale of $10 billion of USDA rural water loans on the secondary market, which could bring in a lump sum payment of $12 billion or more. Revenue from these proceeds could be directed to build the border wall.
Legal authority comes from many angles. Obama stimulus loans (approximately $2-$5 billion) could be separated out and used because they involved “no year” money, meaning the funds don’t expire if not spent in a certain time frame. The president could tap into USDA’s Community Facilities Program (https://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/all-programs/community-facilities-programs)s money if recouped funds from the sale were used for new loans to cooperating communities on the border, such as in Texas.


Another option would be to utilize funds in the same way USDA undertakes in-kind swaps with private parties to the tune of hundreds of millions (https://www.fsa.usda.gov/Assets/USDA-FSA-Public/usdafiles/AboutFSA/CCC/ccc_fact_sheet.pdf)of dollars worth of commodities and services. This would entail swapping the proceeds of the commercial paper sales for the wall, with construction companies being the counterparties.
These are only a few creative funding avenues that could be explored, some less complicated than others. Such an aggressive approach is a sure way for Trump to regain the initiative and get the attention of lawmakers who have an interest in killing any threat to their control over spending, thus giving the president leverage in negotiations as pressure mounts to end the shutdown.

Minus an 11th-hour deal in the Senate, the only way a border wall will get built is if the president uses executive power to do it. He has the funds available and the authority to build the wall on his own. The only question is whether President Trump will finally start taking advice from those who actually support his goals rather than continuing to trust the internal obstructionists.

More at: https://news.yahoo.com/donald-trump-...081508770.html (https://news.yahoo.com/donald-trump-fund-border-wall-081508770.html)

As much as I hate the dept of ag I had no idea those cocksuckers had money for police stations too.

[devil21]

Latest number is "55 miles" :


11 hours ago

Lawmakers reach 'agreement in principle' in border security talks, with $1.3B for barrier

Sources tell Fox News the $1.3 billion can be used only for new construction that would cover approximately 55 miles of border territory in the Rio Grande Valley.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/law...3b-for-barrier (https://www.foxnews.com/politics/lawmakers-reach-agreement-in-principle-on-border-security-talks-with-13b-for-barrier)

Only $23 million per mile for some fence. What a bargain!

(Jeez, who is going to get stupid rich from this nonsense? The real way to get stupid (FRN) rich these days is government contracts.)

[CCTelander]

Only $23 million per mile for some fence. What a bargain!

(Jeez, who is going to get stupid rich from this nonsense? The real way to get stupid (FRN) rich these days is government contracts.)


"Build the wall! Build the wall! Rob us blind! Build the ... huh?"

[devil21]

"Build the wall! Build the wall! Rob us blind! Build the ... huh?"

Quick math says $46 billion to cover all 2000 border miles. Where do I sign up to bid on that contract? I'll hire a bunch of Mexicans for $5/hr and they can build it from the Mexico side without touching the US side.

[Superfluous Man]

Only $23 million per mile for some fence. What a bargain!

(Jeez, who is going to get stupid rich from this nonsense? The real way to get stupid (FRN) rich these days is government contracts.)

Mexico's paying for it.

[CaptUSA]

Only $23 million per mile for some fence. What a bargain!

(Jeez, who is going to get stupid rich from this nonsense? The real way to get stupid (FRN) rich these days is government contracts.)

So... that's $4,476.58 per foot. PER FOOT!! lol.

To put that in easy terms, you could pour a 12-inch thick solid concrete wall with reinforcements almost 900 feet high. Yay, government!!

[Superfluous Man]

you could pour a 12-inch thick solid concrete wall with reinforcements almost 900 feet high.

I like your point. But I don't think you could do this.

[CaptUSA]

I like your point. But I don't think you could do this.

Lol - I just did the math considering the price of a cubic foot of reinforced concrete. The engineering absurdity pales in comparison to the economic absurdity. ;)

[Swordsmyth]

Latest number is "55 miles" :


11 hours ago

Lawmakers reach 'agreement in principle' in border security talks, with $1.3B for barrier

Sources tell Fox News the $1.3 billion can be used only for new construction that would cover approximately 55 miles of border territory in the Rio Grande Valley.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/law...3b-for-barrier (https://www.foxnews.com/politics/lawmakers-reach-agreement-in-principle-on-border-security-talks-with-13b-for-barrier)
The Shutdown is coming.

[enhanced_deficit]

The Shutdown is coming.

When.. this Friday?

[Zippyjuan]

First request/ demand was $20 billion. If the $1.75 billion deal is passed and signed, he only gets nine percent of what he wanted.

[Swordsmyth]

First request/ demand was $20 billion. If the $1.75 billion deal is passed and signed, he only gets nine percent of what he wanted.
He can and will get more money from other places that have already been allocated.

[Zippyjuan]

He can and will get more money from other places that have already been allocated.

He will have to declare an emergency. Republicans are not all in favor of him doing that. And if he does, Congress can vote to end the emergency (or it could be tied up in courts for a long time).

Trump would accept one percent and declare victory. "See? I am building the wall as promised." Even if it wasn't the 2000 mile wall originally promised. He is already claiming miles of new wall are being built when it is simply upgrading existing barriers and not new wall.

[Swordsmyth]

He will have to declare an emergency. Republicans are not all in favor of him doing that. And if he does, Congress can vote to end the emergency (or it could be tied up in courts for a long time).
There are places he can get it without an emergency and Congress and the courts will have a hard time stopping an emergency.

And the shutdown is coming back too.

[Zippyjuan]

Wall hyperbole continues to fly from the Great Exaggerator. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/trump-says-immigrants-would-have-be-able-climb-mt-everest-n971271


WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump promised Wednesday that a "big" and "strong" border wall is "very, very on its way," even as Congress moved toward considering a Homeland Security spending bill that would provide for the construction of about 55 miles of new steel fencing.

"As we review the new proposal from Congress, I can promise you this: I will never waver from my sacred duty to defend this nation and its people," Trump said in a speech to a conference of city and county sheriffs in Washington.

"It’s a wall that people aren’t going through very easy. You’d have to be in extremely good shape to get over this one. They would be able to climb Mt. Everest a lot easier, I think," he said.

And though no new wall is currently under construction, Trump again told an audience that the barrier is being built now.

"The wall is very, very on its way," he said. "It’s happening as we speak. We’re building as we speak in the most desperately needed areas. And it’s a big wall. It’s a strong wall."