Trump wants the military to pay for the border wall. Yes, America's military.
He tried Mexico. He tried a congressional spending bill.
But President Trump couldn't get either one to fully pay for a U.S.-Mexico border wall, so he's quietly asking the military to do it.
To advisers and House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), Trump has mentioned that the Pentagon could fund the wall because it's a "national security risk," anonymous sources told The Washington Post.
The spending bill passed last week only funded $1.6 billion of the $25 billion Trump wanted for the wall. But the Pentagon got about $700 billion, and Trump has suggested funneling that money to wall construction through a tweet and conversations with White House officials, per the Post.
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
Wall construction is still in the works, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters Tuesday. But Trump would still need Congress to act to be able to use the 2018 or 2019 defense budget for the wall, and with Democrats fighting it every step of the way, officials told the Post that probably won't happen.