President Trump can’t get Mexico to pay for his mythical border Wall, and he’s not having much luck with Congress on that front either. After Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer withdrew Democrats’ offer (in January) to help fund the structure, Trump grew frustrated last week and threatened to veto the omnibus spending bill because his Wall “is not fully funded” (only $1.6 billion was allocated so far). Given that he’d like to fulfill his biggest campaign promise, Trump is now looking to yet another funding source, but will it work?
The Washington Post reports that Trump has been “privately pushing” the Pentagon to have the military cough up the cash. Some senior aides told the Post that Trump thinks that because he pushed so hard for increased military spending (and $700 billion was the result), the Department of Defense may as well do him a solid for “national security” reasons. This means that Trump would effectively be bypassing Congress, but here’s what reportedly happened when he told Paul Ryan about the plan:
After floating the notion to several advisers last week, he told House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) that the military should pay for the wall, according to three people familiar with the meeting last Wednesday in the White House residence. Ryan offered little reaction to the notion, these people said, but senior Capitol Hill officials later said it was an unlikely prospect.
Ryan, who recently denied rumors that he’d resign (and be replaced by Majority Whip Steve Scalise), undoubtedly realizes that Trump didn’t realize that he can’t simply push the military (even if they’re willing) to reprogram how they’d spend their funding. Basically, the Pentagon can’t make a shift like that without an act of Congress (with 60 votes for approval), which puts Trump right back where he started … in a puddle of his own frustration.
(Via Washington Post & Military.com)