WASHINGTON (AP) – Lawmakers from both parties told Pentagon leaders on Wednesday that the Defense Department is undermining its own efforts to get military money by diverting billions of dollars for the construction of President Donald Trump’s U.S.-Mexico border wall
The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee and the committee’s top Republican warned Defense Secretary Mark Esper that overturning congressional funding decisions to shift money for the wall is an enormous problem that will have consequences.
The plan to shift money has triggered rare Republican opposition to one of Trump’s priorities.
Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, said the result may be that Congress will place greater restrictions on the Pentagon’s ability to move money around to meet military needs. The chairman, Democratic Rep. Adam Smith of Washington, said the money transfer is “very, very damaging to the Pentagon.”
“The message it sends is the Pentagon has plenty of money,” said Smith, adding that it “undercuts any arguments for any need for resources.”