Border Wall Funds Withdrawn

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) withdrew his previous offer to authorize the necessary funds for President Trump's border wall project. A democratic aide stated that he withdrew his funds amid negotiations of issues concerning immigration with the White House. Schumer told the White House through an aide that he was retracting the offer to give more than $1.6 billion in funding for Trump's proposed border wall. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) speaking on the deal, said Schumer "took it off [the table]." Durbin said Schumer called the White House and removed his proposal according to Politico. Trump had invited Schumer to the White House on Friday for lunch to negotiate a deal for a funding bill, which was put on hold surrounding a "fight for commitments" to address the soon-to-be-expired Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. 

As per usual, Trump's action to invite the Senate Leader was unexpected and few people knew of his planned talks. They met and apparently the conversation led to the possibility of military funding way above the White House's ability and, clearly tempting for Trump, complete funding for Trump's border wall project. The border offer presented went beyond the bipartisan plan brought up by Senators Dick Durbin and Lindsey Graham. The plan Trump rejected earlier this month in his ill-mannered words. Republican senators view this removal as backtracking on their progress. "During the meeting, in exchange for strong [Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals] protections, I reluctantly put the border wall on the table for the discussion. Even that was not enough to entice the president to finish the deal," Schumer said. 

To include funding for the border wall in immigration reform talks could push away liberal Democrats from supporting the long term funding, but attract conservative Republicans to getting behind said deal. Sen. Patrick Leahy said that either the Department of Homeland Security should pay for building the wall with its own existing budget or they can get Mexico to pay for it, a regurgitation of one Trump campaign pledge. I doubt that Mexico would fund this wall in any way. Realistically there is no logical reason why they would want to. Trump and most Republicans are the ones in strong favor of it. Proposals floated recently by the administration and congressional leaders vary but thus far none of them include terms of reimbursement from Mexico.

Mexican leaders have directly said they would not be paying for the wall in any way. Trump’s chief of staff, John Kelly, conceded this during a Fox News interview last week. “In one way or another, it’s possible that we could get the revenue from Mexico but not directly from their government,” he said. He added that the U.S. could possibly recover some money through visa fees or through the ongoing re-negotiations of the North American Free Trade Agreement. Kelly also said Trump’s thoughts about the wall were not “fully informed” during the campaign, and that the president had then“adjusted” his views. Trump, apparently responding to Kelly’s remarks to Fox and his reported statements, insisted that his views on the wall had not changed one bit since its inception during the campaign.

"They can pay for it out of there, if they think it's so important," said Leahy, the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee. "Or they could do my other suggestion. He's pledged, given his word, that Mexico will pay for it because he's very good at the art of the deal and so on. Let's just open up a special account, as Mexico pays in for the Trump wall, they can build it." 

Overall, this wall isn't going to be built or paid for by Mexico. I believe that if this wall is going to be constructed somehow the American people will be paying for it. Whether it be through heavy taxation or something else. 

“I would build a great wall, and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me, and I’ll build them very inexpensively. I will build a great, great wall on our southern border. And I will have Mexico pay for that wall. Mark my words.” - The Donald


https://www.politico.com/story/2018/01/23/chuck-schumer-trump-wall-offer-359156