JimLur, FACT CHECK: Mexico Isn't Paying For The Border Wall, Military Unlikely To Build It
"DoD Official: Department Can Begin Wall Construction Without State of Emergency"
VIDEO 3:46
December 20, 2018 5:04 AM ET
Tamara Keith
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Claim 2: The military will build the wall
Trump also claims that "because of the tremendous dangers at the Border, including large scale criminal and drug inflow, the United States Military will build the Wall!"
This raises two questions: 1. Does the military have the authority to build the wall? 2. Does it have the money to build the wall? In Fight With 'Chuck And Nancy,' Trump Says He'd Be 'Proud' To Shut Down Government
Earlier this month, in an email to NPR's Tom Bowman, Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Jamie Davis addressed the question of legal authority:
- "To date, there is no plan to build sections of the wall. However, Congress has provided options under Title 10 U.S. Code that could permit the Department of Defense to fund border barrier projects, such as in support of counter drug operations or national emergencies." -
As for the funding, that is a much stickier challenge.
"This is not going to happen," said Todd Harrison, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, who specialized in military budgeting.
Here's why he is making such a bold prediction: "For the military to build the wall, that would qualify as a military construction project, and there's not any money currently appropriated for this — certainly not $5 billion," he said.
So, let's say the president decided the military should take money already set aside for something else and use it to build the wall instead — that would require approval from Congress. Harrison says all the relevant committees in both chambers would have to approve shifting, or "reprogramming," the funds. There are also caps on just how much money can be moved that way.
"If any one of those committees says no, you can't do it," Harrison said.
He has a hard time imagining those committees signing off.
"It would be coming at the expense of other priorities in the military," Harrison said. "Even if they agree with the wall, they would say, 'Hey, don't take our money to pay for it. This money is intended for the military. That's what it was approved for, and that's what we want it to be used for.' "
The process would be the same if the Trump administration wanted to shift funds to the wall from other agencies as well. Congress controls the purse strings.
And that only becomes a harder sell once Democrats take control of the House and the relevant committees in January.
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