Diverting $3.8 Billion in Military Funds to Border Wall After Congress Refused
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In February 2020, the Trump administration announced the diversion of an additional $3.8 billion in military construction funds to border wall construction — funds that had been appropriated by Congress for specific military purposes including school construction at Fort Campbell, Kentucky; housing at Guantanamo; and facilities in Germany. Military families were directly affected when promised construction projects were canceled. The GAO had previously found that Trump's withholding of congressionally appropriated Ukraine security assistance violated the Impoundment Control Act; the same statutory framework applied to the Pentagon diversions.
Overview
The Constitution gives Congress the power of the purse. Congress appropriates money for specific purposes. The executive branch spends it for those purposes. This has been a foundational principle of U.S. constitutional governance for 230 years.
The Trump administration diverted $8.1 billion in congressionally appropriated funds to build a structure Congress had declined to fund. It did this by declaring a national emergency.
The Fort Campbell School
The abstract becomes concrete at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. Military families live on base. Their children attend Department of Defense schools. A new school at Fort Campbell had been funded — $400 million in military construction appropriations, money Congress had approved for that specific purpose.
The money was redirected to the border wall. The school was not built.
The Legal Architecture
The National Emergencies Act and associated statutes give the president certain powers to redirect funds upon declaring a national emergency. These powers were designed for genuine emergencies — acts of God, military crises, sudden events requiring immediate response.
The border security situation in February 2020 was the same as it had been in February 2019. The "emergency" had been declared after a 35-day government shutdown in which Trump had demanded $5.7 billion for the wall and not received it. The courts that reviewed the diversion were skeptical that a policy disagreement with Congress constituted the kind of emergency contemplated by the statute.
The Supreme Court allowed construction to proceed on a 5-4 vote while those courts continued to deliberate.
Timeline
Sequence of events
February 15, 2019
Trump declares national emergency
After the 35-day shutdown ends without wall funding, Trump signs the spending bill but simultaneously declares a national emergency to access funds not appropriated for the wall. He describes it as a method to 'build the wall fast.'
July 26, 2019
First $2.5 billion Pentagon diversion
The Trump administration announces it will divert $2.5 billion from Pentagon drug interdiction programs to border wall construction, following court battles over the initial emergency declaration.
February 13, 2020
Additional $3.8 billion Pentagon diversion
The administration announces an additional $3.8 billion diversion from military construction projects, including the Fort Campbell school for military families' children.
July 31, 2020
Supreme Court allows diversions to continue
The Supreme Court votes 5-4 to stay lower court injunctions blocking the diversions, allowing construction to proceed while the legal battle continues.
January 20, 2021
Biden halts construction
Biden signs an executive order on his first day halting border wall construction. Billions in diverted funds have already been spent; many sections of contracted wall segments go unbuilt.
Sources
- ↑ Trump Redirects $3.8 Billion in Pentagon Funds for Border Wall — The New York Times
- ↑ Trump to divert $3.8 billion in Pentagon funds to border wall — The Washington Post
- ↑ GAO Decision: Office of Management and Budget — Impoundment of Ukraine Security Funds — Government Accountability Office
- ↑ Trump diverts $3.8 billion more in military funds to border wall — The Associated Press
Verification