Pentagon finds $12.8 billion for border wall

  After declaring a national emergency at the Southern border Donald Trump tasked the Defense Department with finding $3.6 billion to make up for the money the Congress refused to give him.

  It is now being reported here that the Pentagon has identified nearly $13 billion which could be reallocated to build the wall. Here is more:

The Defense Department has identified $12.8 billion in possible funding that it could use to fulfill President Trump’s call for a border wall.

Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., released the 20-page spreadsheet on Twitter Monday night.

Trump last month declared a national emergency at the border, and said he wants to use $3.6 billion for border wall projects. The Pentagon’s list said it has found possible funding sources that are “in excess of the amount needed.”

  Although the article I linked to above speculates on where the money could come from it is unsure at this point which projects will lose funding to build the wall. I do not think I am going out on a limb however to state that whatever choices are made they will be challenged in court.

  It is unclear whether Donald Trump will ask for the whole $12.8 billion from the Defense Department or whether he will prioritize certain projects over others and stick to the original $3.6 billion he asked for. If I remember correctly the wall was originally estimated to cost something like $25 billion with the President only asking for $5 billion of that so it is possible he would decide to take most, if not all, of the money.

  The Congress has already tried to stop Donald Trump’s emergency declaration and failed but this battle is far from over. No State is going to sit back and willingly let the President take money which was already granted to them even though they have been slow in spending it so we can expect the lawsuits to mount up. And we know there will be a judge somewhere who will rule against the President.

malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium