President Donald Trump reportedly wants to tap into the vast military budget to pay for his border wall, and White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders so far is not denying it.
“I can’t get into the specifics of that at this point, but I can tell you that the conversation of building the wall is ongoing and we’re going to continue moving forward in that process,” Sanders said.
The president is reportedly billing the wall as a national security issue in talks with lawmakers.
National security expert Edward Turzanski says the president should stop right now, before he sets a legal precedent moving forward.
“It will be one of those situations where if the courts do rule against the president, not only this one, but future presidents will be hamstrung in terms of how they use Congressionally appropriated money,” he says.
“The question will be where's the money coming from and what are those details? None of that has been forthcoming, so in a sense this looks like a trial balloon, but it's one he ought to keep on the ground.”
Turzanski says military budget cuts already are being blamed for the deaths of U.S. soldiers and Trump should keep his name out of the discussion.
“I appreciate the president's frustration, but I think this is a very ill-advised action because you're not quite sure how it'll turn out, and if I had to guess, I think he will wind up losing as a matter of law in the courts,” he says.