President Trump has repeatedly said that the southern border wall is a matter of national security and he tweeted last week that he was ready to build the wall “immediately”. He also said the military could build it. It seems he might have played Congress and he appears to have the money for the wall.
A letter issued by the White House on March 23rd might prove the President was prepared for the McConnell-Ryan Omnibus betrayal. It seems he redirected funding for his use immediately after he signed the bill.
In the letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate, the President stated:
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The President is addressing the discretionary funding in the letter, stating his intent to “repurpose” certain funds that Congress had appropriated as “discretionary spending.” He will put them towards “emergency appropriations, overseas contingency operations/global war on terrorism”.
He tweeted on the 25th that the military could build the wall.
Because of the $700 & $716 Billion Dollars gotten to rebuild our Military, many jobs are created and our Military is again rich. Building a great Border Wall, with drugs (poison) and enemy combatants pouring into our Country, is all about National Defense. Build WALL through M!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 25, 2018
Congress did not pass a budget and therefore the money they have appropriated is not confined to the constitutional restrictions of a budget.
Additionally, the President fully funded the Army Corps of Engineers and he declared a national emergency in December of 2017. There is potential here to redirect funding to the wall and have the Army Corps of Engineers build the wall.
Also, the National Defense Authorization Act of 2018 dropped the prohibition against using Department of Defense funds for purposes not designated.
He Can Legally Do It
Ann Coulter told Jeanine Pirro he could build the wall and he has the money to do it. She is frustrated he hasn’t already done it. When Pirro asked where the money would come from, Coulter said:
“The same place Reagan took the money to invade Grenada,” Coulter replied. “The same place [Trump] took the money bomb Syria. He has money to spend on national defense. This is a much bigger problem of national defense. This our people being attacked with chemical warfare, not allegedly Syrians.”
Go to 03:42:
During his speech about the Omnibus, the President said he would never sign another one like it again. He also said:
“I want to address the situation on border security, which I call national defense. I call it stopping drugs from pouring across our border. And I call it illegal immigration. It’s all of those things. But national defense is a very important two words because by having a strong border system, including a wall, we are in a position militarily that is very advantageous.”
I am no expert but I see some Americans saying ( on facebok ) that an Omnibus Bill is more like a suggestion than anything, that Trump is under no obligation to do what is proposed in the Omnibus bill…and people are saying Obama had also signed an Omnibus bill and then had spent money the way HE wanted, where and when he wanted, and not the way the bill said he should.
If Obama was able to ignore an Omnibus bill for almost 8 years, Trump can do the same.
This would be one for the books. Crossing my fingers.
Crying Chuck Schumer better stay hydrated.