Trump Administration Diverts $3.6 Billion From Military Projects To Border Wall

https://www.npr.org/2019/09/03/757262799/trump-administration-diverts-3-6-billion-from-military-projects-to-border-wall

September 3, 20197:11 PM ET
Claudia Grisales

The Trump administration has started the arduous process of canceling $3.6 billion in military construction projects to fund its plans to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper began notifying lawmakers Tuesday which projects will be canceled in their districts. Top Democrats immediately blasted the plan.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., was among the first lawmakers to say his district will be impacted by the funding cuts, for the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

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The Washington Post reported that Pentagon officials said they will halt 127 military construction projects to help build 175 miles of wall.

The plans come nearly seven months after Trump announced a national emergency to use roughly $8 billion to build a wall to curtail illegal immigration along the U.S. southern border. Of that, $3.6 billion was slated to come from the military construction funds, the Trump administration said during the Feb. 15 announcement.

The funds are being shifted from the Pentagon's 2019 fiscal year budget, which was approved earlier this year and runs until Sept. 31.

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