FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—President Donald Trump has been directly involved in House Republicans’ move to dedicate $69 billion to building the border wall and hiring more Border Patrol agents, a White House official confirmed to The Daily Signal.
The House Homeland Security Committee released its budget proposal Sunday, calling for $46.5 billion in new money to pay for the border wall. More than $5 billion of the total $68.8 billion will go toward new facilities and personnel for Customs and Border Protection.
The funding is part of the budget reconciliation process. Congress passed its broad budget framework earlier this year. Committees like Homeland Security are now working to fill in the specifics.
The budget reconciliation process is considered Trump’s and congressional Republicans’ best—and likely only—hope to pass their agenda through Congress.
The White House has been involved in constructing the funding plan over the past few months and fully supports it, two sources close to members of Congress told The Daily Signal. A White House official confirmed the president’s support.
“It has been a breath of fresh air to work with President Trump during the House budget reconciliation process because he understands the importance of securing our borders and enforcing our laws, and he has listened to the needs of the frontline law enforcement agents and officers who were long ignored by Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and Alejandro Mayorkas,” Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green told The Daily Signal.
“President Trump knows the importance of equipping CBP with a strategic border barrier system, additional personnel, and cutting-edge technology to fulfil its law enforcement mission,” Green continued.
Reconciliation funding will equip CBP with the ability to hire and train 3,000 new Border Patrol agents, 5,000 new Office of Field Operations customs officers, 200 new Air and Marine Operations agents, 290 support staff, and eligible retired agents and officers.
The border wall, which the House Homeland Security Committee calls an “integrated border barrier system,” will feature physical infrastructure as well as technological enhancements.
This includes internally reinforced steel bollards, fencing, all-weather access roads, lighting, surveillance cameras, and more.
“Homeland Security Committee Republicans are committed to working with President Trump and his team to deliver these critical resources to our frontline law enforcement and ensure something like the Biden border crisis can never happen again,” Green said. “For the sake of protecting the American people, I hope my Democrat colleagues follow suit.”
Sunday’s budget proposal triples Congress’ investment into Trump’s first term border wall.
“My Republican colleagues and I in the House Judiciary Committee are dead set on advancing President Trump’s border priorities through budget reconciliation,” Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, told The Daily Signal. “It’s my top priority to further President Trump’s America-first border agenda and will do what it takes to fund the wall and hire more CBP agents.”
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt expressed support for more border wall funding at Monday morning’s press briefing with border czar Tom Homan.
“To date, since Jan. 1, there’s been more than 85 miles of new border wall construction in various stages of that construction and planning,” Leavitt said. “The president has made it clear to Congress that we want to see more funding for not just border wall construction, but also to support our [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] agents and our border patrol agents who are on the ground facilitating with this mass deportation.”
