Donald Trump says that US will use military to guard border with Mexico until a wall can be built
The US president has been frustrated by the lack of progress building what was the signature promise of his campaign: a wall along the Mexican border
US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he wants to use the military to secure the US-Mexico border until his promised border wall is built.
Speaking at a lunch with Baltic leaders, Trump said he ha been discussing the idea with his defence secretary, Jim Mattis.
“We’re going to be doing things militarily,” Trump said. “Until we can have a wall and proper security, we’re going to be guarding our border with the military,” adding that the measure was a “big step.”
“We really haven’t done that before, or certainly not very much before,” he said.
Trump has been deeply frustrated by the lack of progress building what was the signature promise of his campaign: a “big, beautiful wall” along the Mexican border.
He has previously suggested using the Pentagon’s budget to pay for building the wall, arguing that it is a national security priority, despite rules that prohibit spending that is not authorised by Congress.