With lawmakers on Capitol Hill trying to negotiate a deal to avert another government shutdown, President Donald Trump is again calling for money to build his border wall between the U.S. and Mexico.
Trump said repeatedly on the campaign trail that Mexico would pay for the wall but nevertheless, he’s demanding the U.S. government set aside at least $5 billion. In a string of five consecutive tweets Tuesday morning, Trump said if Democrats won’t vote to fund the wall, the military will build “the remaining sections.”
Trump frequently says that construction of the wall has already begun, but Congress has so far only approved $1.6 billion to replace existing barriers and add some fencing in some areas. He also didn’t elaborate on how the military would build it.
Trump is scheduled to meet Tuesday with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D. Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).
If a spending deal isn’t reached by the end of this week, funding will run out for the Homeland Security Department and other federal agencies, which make up about 25 percent of the government.
The tweets are strung together in complete sentences for readability below:
“Despite the large Caravans that WERE forming and heading to our Country, people have not been able to get through our newly built Walls, makeshift Walls & Fences, or Border Patrol Officers & Military. They are now staying in Mexico or going back to their original countries Ice, Border Patrol and our Military have done a FANTASTIC job of securing our Southern Border. A Great Wall would be, however, a far easier & less expensive solution. We have already built large new sections & fully renovated others, making them like new.
“The Democrats, however, for strictly political reasons and because they have been pulled so far left, do NOT want Border Security. They want Open Borders for anyone to come in. This brings large scale crime and disease. Our Southern Border is now Secure and will remain that way. I look forward to my meeting with Chuck Schumer & Nancy Pelosi. In 2006, Democrats voted for a Wall, and they were right to do so. Today, they no longer want Border Security. They will fight it at all cost, and Nancy must get votes for Speaker. But the Wall will get built. People do not yet realize how much of the Wall, including really effective renovation, has already been built. If the Democrats do not give us the votes to secure our Country, the Military will build the remaining sections of the Wall. They know how important it is!”
