BORDER/DHS/GOP/TRUMP PEOPLE/WALL: “President Donald Trump has ‘aggressively’ pushed for the Army Corps of Engineers to award a contract to a North Dakota-based construction company to build sections of his proposed wall along the southern US border, The Washington Post reported Thursday [5-23-19]. Citing conversations with multiple unnamed administration officials, the paper said the President has been pushing Department of Homeland Security leaders and Lt. Gen. Todd Semonite, the commanding general of the Army Corps of Engineers, to award a contract potentially worth billions of dollars to Fisher Industries, ‘whose top executive is a GOP donor and frequent guest on Fox News.’ The Post said Trump’s push for the contract with Fisher, which is suing the federal government over its solicitation process for border wall contracts, ‘has alarmed military commanders and DHS officials.’ The President, who has ‘repeatedly’ lobbied on behalf of the company to officials, again brought it up on Thursday during an Oval Office meeting about the border wall with Semonite, the paper said. Trump, according to officials the Post spoke to, ‘immediately brought up Fisher’ during the meeting.”
–Devan Cole, “Washington Post: Trump ‘aggressively’ pushing for GOP donor’s company to get border wall contract,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, May 23, 2019 10:46 pm