Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Sunday defended the possibility of taking money away from building a middle school in Kentucky in order to erect President Donald Trump’s border wall, saying children need a “secure border” before a school.
Graham was grilled on CBS’ “Face the Nation” about money Trump will likely divert to build the wall in the wake of the president’s declaration of a national emergency after he failed to get the funds from Congress.
Host Margaret Brennan noted that some $3.6 billion of diverted funds could come from “military construction efforts, including construction of a middle school in Kentucky, housing for military families, improvements for bases.” She asked Graham: “Aren’t you concerned some of these projects ... are now going to possibly be cut out?”
Graham responded that “it’s better for the middle school kids in Kentucky to have a secure border.” He promised the kids would eventually get their school, but added, “Right now we’ve got a national emergency.”
Statistics from Trump’s own Department of Homeland Security reveal that illegal border crossings are a fraction of what they were 19 years ago. Also, nearly 90 percent of illegal drugs cross the border at ports of entry, so a wall would not impact that traffic.
Trump conceded when he announced his declaration of a national emergency on Friday that he really “didn’t need to do this” now, but he wanted to build the wall “faster.”
The action is already being challenged in the courts.
Twitter had lots of pushback. Here’s a taste: