Dems slam Trump's alleged plan to divert $7.2B from DOD to border wall

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith (D-WA) said he is alarmed by reports that President Trump will siphon $7.2 billion this year from the Pentagon to pay for construction of a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.

"We are only two weeks into the new year and already the president is playing politics with our nation's defense by threatening to steal another $7.2 billion from the Department of Defense to spend on his pointless border wall," Smith said.

The Washington Post reported earlier this week Trump plans to reprogram $3.7 billion in military construction money and another $3.5 billion from counter-drug operations to complete about 885 miles of new fencing by spring 2022.

A senior administration official told Inside Defense that no final decision has been made on the wall funding, but the president "is looking at every strategic option."

Trump last year diverted $2.5 billion in counter-drug money and $3.6 billion from military construction to fund the border barrier, though the construction funds remain tied up in court.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit lifted an injunction on the military construction money last week and said it could be used to build the wall while legal challenges await resolution.

"Last year the administration robbed billions from military construction projects," Smith said. "If the White House replicates that tactic again, as has been reported, our service members and their families are the ones who will suffer."

Senate Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Jack Reed (D-RI) also blasted Trump's reported plan to divert the funds.

"If Congress allows President Trump to continue down this path, it will set a precedent that emboldens future presidents to disregard Congress and redirect military spending to questionable causes," he said.

Democrats fought to include provisions in the FY-20 defense authorization bill that would have blocked Trump from again taking Pentagon funds for the wall without the consent of Congress, but the language was removed amid a final compromise.

At the time, Smith said he was confident Trump would be deterred from again taking Pentagon money for the wall because the defense budget would be flat for FY-21, noting that the $741 billion planned for total defense spending is a "pretty snug number."

"If the White House is going to go in and grab another $3 [billion], $4 [billion], $5 [billion], $6 billion, they're starting to cut into bone at that point," Smith said. "I think the restriction on their ability to do that comes in the budget agreement."

Today, Smith noted that Pentagon officials are again telling Congress they don't have enough money. Navy officials just this week said they will need a larger share of future defense budgets if they are to sufficiently modernize their force in the coming years.

"Each year we hear from our leaders at the Pentagon that they don’t have enough money," Smith said. "They testify before Congress that any cuts to their funding would be disastrous for our national security. If that is in fact true, then how can the president steal billions more from the Department of Defense without seriously undermining our national security?"