“WASHINGTON
— Shifting on a longtime campaign promise to compel Mexico to pay for a wall
along the southern border, President-elect Donald Trump now plans instead to
get Congress to fund the project with Mexico reimbursing later.
Trump’s
transition team has reached out to congressional leaders about using the
federal budget process to pay for the oft-touted wall, CNN reported
late Thursday.
Trump
defended the move in a tweet Friday morning, explaining that the new plan is to
ensure that the project can begin quickly, and insisting that Mexico will pay
the U.S. back at an undetermined future date.
Trump
never mentioned during the campaign that U.S. taxpayers would have to front the
cost of a wall, which could be as high as $25 billion. Spokesman Sean
Spicer hit back at any inference that a down payment approach means that Trump
is backing away from his pledge to have Mexico pay for the wall, however.
"The
idea that we're going through the appropriations process and figuring out how
to pay for it shouldn't be news. Just to make sure that we're all clear on
that," he told reporters Friday morning on a briefing call. [Pathetic attempt to spin the change. This an dozens of other staff statements make
it clear the Trump people are also in the post-truth mode.]
On
Capitol Hill, Trump allies appeared open to the idea.
"We'll
start it and Mexico can pay us back," Rep. Louie Gohmert, a Tyler
Republican, told The Dallas Morning News on Thursday evening. He
argued that there may be unused funds available from a 2006 bill directing $4
billion to border security.
Rep.
Chris Collins, R-N.Y., said Friday that he was confident Trump would be able to
force the Mexican government to ultimately bear the costs of the project.
“When
you understand that Mexico’s economy is dependent upon U.S. consumers, Donald
Trump has all the cards he needs to play,” Collins, who is serving as Trump’s
congressional liaison, told CNN.
But
former Mexican President Vicente Fox, a frequent Trump critic, reasserted
Thursday that Mexico will play no role in paying for the president-elect’s
“racist monument."
Donald J. Trump
✔
@realDonaldTrump
The dishonest media does not report that any money spent on building the Great Wall (for sake of speed), will be paid back by Mexico later!
Any Mexican President who appeared to be cow-towing to the
U.S. would never be re-elected. Trumps
delusion that Mexico would pay for the wall has been replaced with a delusion
that Mexico will reimburse us.
I think it is becoming obvious that Trump will become our 1st post-truth President.
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