Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan says he has sent to Congress a list of military construction projects that could provide up to $3.6 billion this year for President Trump’s border wall.
Shanahan made the disclosure in a brief exchange with reporters as he met with French Defense Minister Florence Parly at the Pentagon Monday.
Democrats have been demanding a list of all projects that could be delayed or cut as a result of the president’s plan to shift money from the Pentagon’s budget to border wall construction under Trump’s emergency authority.
The Trump administration insists that no projects will be canceled or delayed, because only funds authorized for projects that were not expected to begin this fiscal year will be borrowed, and they’ll be paid back next year.
Last week, Trump vetoed a bipartisan measure that would have blocked his emergency declaration and prevented him from transferring Pentagon funds.
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., has accused the president of withholding the list so senators voting on a possible veto override wouldn’t know if their states would be affected. The senator admitted on CBS’s “Face the Nation” Sunday that he “kind of blew up” at Shanahan at an Armed Services Committee hearing last week.
When asked Monday if he had fulfilled his promise to provide the list, Shanahan said simply, “I have.”
