Report: Trump To Take On Congress, Demand $8.6 Billion for Border Wall
President Trump will bring his quest for a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico to a new political battleground Monday as he releases his proposal for the 2020 federal budget.
Trump’s proposal would fund government operations for the fiscal year beginning October first. Trump’s current battle with Congress over border wall funding is focused on the fiscal 2019 federal budget — the fiscal year the federal government is currently in.
Trump’s budget proposal will call for a 5 percent across-the-board cut in domestic spending, CNN reported. Defense spending would be exempted from any cuts.
Trump will be seeking $8.6 billion from Congress for border wall construction. He will also propose a $3.6 million pot of funding that will be used to fund military construction items Trump wants to put on hold in this budget year in order to shift the money toward wall construction.
“I would just say that the whole issue of the wall and border security is a paramount of importance,” White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said Sunday on “Fox News Sunday.”
“We have a crisis down there. I think the president has made that case effectively. It’s a crisis of economics, it’s a crisis of crime and drugs, it’s a crisis just of humanity,” he said.
“He’s going to stay with his wall, and he’s going to stay with the border security theme,” Kudlow said. “I think it’s essential.”
Debate on more wall funding comes as, according to The Western Journal, federal officials said the overload of migrants coming into the nation represents an escalating crisis.
Border Patrol and Law Enforcement has apprehended (captured) large numbers of illegal immigrants at the Border. They won’t be coming into the U.S. The Wall is being built and will greatly help us in the future, and now!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 9, 2019
Kudlow said attempts to curb spending mean that this will be “a tough budget,”
He also added that the Trump administration will use budget caps to limit spending.
“We’re going to do our own caps this year and I think it’s long overdue. Some of these recent budget deals have not been favorable towards spending. So, I think it’s exactly the right prescription,” Kudlow said.
Presidential budget proposals begin a months-long series of steps to develop a budget. Traditionally, the president’s budget is a blueprint more than a final document. However, with Democrats in control of the House and Republicans in control of the Senate, there will likely be significant changes to the budget before it is adopted.
Democrats have already vowed to block Trump’s proposals.
Let’s get this straight: billions of dollars for a border wall is a waste of money. American taxpayers shouldn’t foot the bill for the President’s vanity project. We simply don’t need it. https://t.co/u6dHy5FrbB
— Kamala Harris (@SenKamalaHarris) March 10, 2019
“President Trump hurt millions of Americans and caused widespread chaos when he recklessly shut down the government to try to get his expensive and ineffective wall, which he promised would be paid for by Mexico,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said in a joint statement, according to Fox News.
“Congress refused to fund his wall and he was forced to admit defeat and reopen the government. The same thing will repeat itself if he tries this again. We hope he learned his lesson. At a time when our country faces challenges about jobs for the future, this money would better be spent on rebuilding America,” they said.
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.
