Thread: Schumer Threatens Lawsuits If Trump Uses Pentagon for Border Wall

Schumer Threatens Lawsuits If Trump Uses Pentagon for Border Wall




Democratic leader Sen. Chuck Schumer says any effort by President Donald Trump to use military funding to build his border wall be blocked by lawsuits, according to the Washington Post.



The Washington Post reported that Trump is pushing military officials to shift a very small portion of their $700 billion 2018 budget to build up border defenses, and quoted Schumer saying:

This would be a blatant misuse of military funds and tied up in court for years. [Defense] Secretary Mattis ought not bother and instead use the money to help our troops, rather than advance the president’s political fantasies.

Schumer’s threat came after he worked with GOP leaders to allocate only $641 million for the construction of new border fences in the 2018 omnibus bill. The bill also includes language which bars Trump from spending money on the concrete-and-metal prototype walls which he touted in early March. According to the Post:

Trump, who told advisers he was spurned in a large spending bill last week when lawmakers only appropriated $1.6 billion for the border wall, has begun suggesting the Pentagon could fund the sprawling construction, citing a “national security” risk.
After floating the notion to several advisers last week, he told Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) that the military should pay for the wall in a meeting last Wednesday in the White House residence, according to three people familiar with the meeting. Ryan offered little reaction to the notion, these people said, but senior Capitol Hill officials later said it was an unlikely prospect.

Long-standing laws sharply restrict what “reprogramming” Presidents can do with appropriated funds. For example, President must spend most of the funds allocated by Congress, and can only shift a small percentageof each program’s funds to another program.


However, Trump is also the Commander in Chief of the military, and he has begun arguing that border defenses are a national security need which falls outside Congress’ direct control. On March 25, for example, he argued that the wall should be built by the military, dubbed “M”

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!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 25, 2018

Trump’s push to enlist the military in his wall-building plans are likely to be resisted by Defense Secretary Jame Mattis, who has successfully avoided most partisan disputes. Also, Pentagon leaders do not want to divert troops and funding to a police-style mission on the border.


Former Sen. Jeff Sessions, now the Attorney General, may also oppose the reprogramming effort, in part, because he spent much time trying to block former President Barack Obama from evading Congress’ controls, such as Obama’s attempted 2012 ‘DACA’ amnesty.


But any dispute with Washington may help Trump show his political distance from Washington D.C., especially after D.C. insiders united to block his immigration reforms in the February Senate debate and in the March omnibus spending plan.



http://www.breitbart.com/2018-electi...r-border-wall/

Not a fan of General Mattis. I honor his service but he used enormous pressure on President Trump to sign the omnibus bill with all of the pork, lack of wall funding, or addressing sanctuary cities. Yes, President Trump had a choice to veto the legislation that no one read, however General Mattis seemed relentless in getting the billions for the military no matter the costs to the American taxpayer on so many other things.

Probably more toilets and screws and other things will result in hundreds and thousands and millions more of wasted dollars. No one in government seems to truly care.

President Trump needs to use the avenues available to build the wall, to defend the nation at the borders and in the interior. If General Mattis balks, let it be. If he resigns over refusal to take a portion of the billions to secure the nation, the president should accept it. The same for General Kelly. Neither general seems to see the real dangers in unsecure borders and rampant illegal immigration.

The threats are not just out there somewhere, they are very close to home.

Well, looks like a good year for lawyers!

Originally Posted by GeorgiaPeach

Not a fan of General Mattis. I honor his service but he used enormous pressure on President Trump to sign the omnibus bill with all of the pork, lack of wall funding, or addressing sanctuary cities. Yes, President Trump had a choice to veto the legislation that no one read, however General Mattis seemed relentless in getting the billions for the military no matter the costs to the American taxpayer on so many other things.

Probably more toilets and screws and other things will result in hundreds and thousands and millions more of wasted dollars. No one in government seems to truly care.

President Trump needs to use the avenues available to build the wall, to defend the nation at the borders and in the interior. If General Mattis balks, let it be. If he resigns over refusal to take a portion of the billions to secure the nation, the president should accept it. The same for General Kelly. Neither general seems to see the real dangers in unsecure borders and rampant illegal immigration.

The threats are not just out there somewhere, they are very close to home.

If Mattis used pressure perhaps it was because there also was a generous apportionment for the military, too. But....I can't see how the small military contingent that would be needed to enforce border security would jeopardize the quality of the US military. I'm sure it is known where the likely border crossing routes are. The only drawback is Trump seems to want to do things in a big way.

There is a section of the US Military called the Southern Command. That is the group that was led by General John Kelly now White House Chief of Staff. A lot of money is allocated by the US Department of Defense to that Command. I don't know how much, but I'm sure it's a lot, with a great deal of flexibility within the US DOD to allocate more as needs arise. Officials in the Mexican legislative branch recently threatened the United States with sending terrorists and killer narcotics into our country. If that is not a national defense crisis that's killed and threatened more Americans than all wars combined since WWII, all at the hands of foreign enemies, then I don't know what the US military thinks a "threat" is. If DOD can't use their money to defend our country against these active foreign threats, then what is the point of having a military complete with its famous Army Corps of Engineers to do just that? Americans aren't funding a military to build schools in Afghanistan, Americans are funding a military to protect our nation and that means protecting our borders and ports. I mean Americans are funding the security of Mexico's southern border with US military, that's what the US Southern Command does, yet it can't secure our border with the same Command? Really Schumer?!!

They need to proceed quickly and quietly, on a confidential classified basis as a matter of national defense, and take whatever action and build whatever is necessary to secure our borders and ports from all foreign threats to our national security. There is no real American who expects any less every day of the week and twice on Sundays.

The Democrats do little more than sue and obstruct. IMO