BORDER/DEFENSE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/WALL: “Even if everything goes according to plan, it will likely be months before construction on President Donald Trump’s sought-after border wall can even start, according to senior defense officials. Trump recently declared a national emergency on the southern border, a move that in theory will allow his administration to tap and repurpose more than $3 billion in military construction funds to build sections of the wall. The declaration has been challenged by several states and some members of Congress. Trump also said that his administration would use the Pentagon’s counter drug fund to build sections of the wall. But even if the court and congressional challenges do not slow the process, defense officials say it will still be many months before the funds in question could be used to build a wall. Senior Defense officials said Friday that the Defense Department is currently awaiting a request from the Department of Homeland Security to provide support for border wall construction.”
–Ryan Browne, “Pentagon says it will be months before construction on Trump’s border wall starts,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, February 22, 2019 2:09 am