March 28, 2018•Update: March 28, 2018
By Michael Hernandez
WASHINGTON
President Donald Trump is asking the Department of Defense to fund the barrier he has long promised supporters along the U.S. southern border, according to multiple reports published Tuesday.
Trump reportedly floated the idea during a meeting with House Speaker Paul Ryan last week at the White House following the passage of an omnibus spending bill that did not include funding for the border wall.
Trump originally vowed to have Mexico fund its construction, but Mexico City has adamantly shrugged off any suggestion that it foot the bill, leading Trump to seek creative workarounds to his pledge.
The American president appeared to hint at the newest proposal in a post on Twitter over the weekend.
"Because of the $700 & $716 Billion Dollars gotten to rebuild our Military, many jobs are created and our Military is again rich. Building a great Border Wall, with drugs (poison) and enemy combatants pouring into our Country, is all about National Defense. Build WALL through M!"
It is unclear which "enemy combatants" Trump was referring to.
The proposal to have the Pentagon fund the separation barrier was first reported by The Washington Post, which said Ryan had little reaction to the suggestion, and the chances that Trump could get some of the funding from the Pentagon's $700 billion budget re-appropriated for the wall are dim.
Trump is unlikely to have the votes in Congress to make that happen, and Democrats are certain to resist any action to do so.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders declined to comment on reports that Trump is seeking to have the Pentagon pay for the wall, instead insisting Trump "still has plans to look at potential ways" to get Mexico to pay for it.
