President Donald Trump detailed his backup plan in the event Congress is unwilling to fund a border wall in an interview with The Washington Post on Tuesday.
“We need Democrat votes to have a wall,” the president stated, according to WaPo. “Now, if we don’t get it, will I get it done another way? I might get it done another way. There are other potential ways that I can do it. You saw what we did with the military, just coming in with the barbed wire and the fencing, and various other things.”
With the ongoing migrant crisis at the border, Trump and the Department of Homeland Security have worked to secure the borders. The president sent over 5,000 troops to the border and, as he referenced, they implemented security reinforcements such as barbed wire.
Despite those reinforcements, members of the most recent caravan attempted to storm the border on Sunday, which led to border officials choosing to lock down the San Ysidro port of entry between Tijuana, Mexico, and the San Diego area. Law enforcement officials were forced to use tear gas to drive back the approaching migrants. (RELATED: Nielsen Provides Update On Closed California Ports After Migrants Tried Storming The Border)
CIUDAD TECUN UMAN, GUATEMALA – OCTOBER 19: Members of the migrant caravan push forward at a gate separating Guatemala from Mexico on October 19, 2018 in Ciudad Tecun Uman, Guatemala. The caravan of thousands of immigrants, most from Honduras, pushed open the gate on the Guatemalan side and crossed the bridge to Mexico but were then pushed back by Mexican riot police. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)
The funding for the Department of Homeland Security, among many other government agencies, expires on Dec. 7, so they will shut down after that date if Congress and the president refuse to act.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer deflected any potential blame for a potential shutdown on Tuesday. He said, “We are for strong border security. We’ve made numerous proposals.” Schumer said. “If there’s any shutdown, it’s on President Trump’s back,” according to National Review.
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy introduced a bill in October to fund the wall. The bill, known as the Build the Wall, Enforce the Law Act of 2018, would appropriate $16.6 billion for a “border wall system” along the U.S.-Mexico border. (RELATED: Bollard Wall Project To Begin At US-Mexico Border)