‘Better’ For School Kids To Have Border Wall Than New Schools, Suggests Lindsey Graham
In an interview broadcast Sunday, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham argued that it is “better” for school kids to have a border wall than new schools, Raw Story reports.
The topic of Graham’s discussion with Face the Nation host Margaret Brennan was President Donald Trump’s decision to declare national emergency in an effort to combat the alleged crisis at the southern border.
As detailed by a previous Inquisitr report, on February 16 President Trump declared national emergency despite intense push-back. The order followed weeks of bipartisan negotiations which came after the longest and most expensive government shutdown in United States history.
But the negotiations failed, and President Trump declared national emergency in order to circumvent Congress — which refused to allocate funds for the border wall — and finance the expensive border project through other means.
Trump is looking to allocate funds from the military construction budget, but the Department of Defense has not approved the maneuver yet. Fueling the Pentagon’s reluctance is the fact that funds could be taken away from military housing. Recent media reports revealed that some military housing remains infested with pests, and other health risks, so such a decision would be controversial.
According to Face the Nation host Margaret Brennan, $3.6 billion of the funds for Trump’s wall could indeed come from military funds “including construction of a middle school in Kentucky.”
When asked about military construction projects that could be cut, including a middle school in Kentucky, @LindseyGrahamSC says, “I would say it's better for the middle school kids in Kentucky to have a secure border…right now we've got a national emergency on our hands.” pic.twitter.com/4CI4d1bp4L
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) February 17, 2019
But according to Senator Lindsey Graham that is not a problem. When Brennan asked Graham about the issue, the Republican senator argued that Kentucky school children would benefit from Trump’s border wall as well. In fact, according to Graham, it would be “better” for Kentucky school kids to have a secure border than to attend a renovated school.
“The president will have to make a decision on where he gets the money. Let’s just say for a minute that he took some money out of the military construction budget,” Graham said.
“I would say it’s better for the middle school kids in Kentucky to have a secure border. We’ll get them the school they need, but right now, we’ve got a national emergency on our hands.”
As Politico noted, Graham voiced support for President Trump’s declaration of national emergency, arguing that building a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border is necessary in order to curb illegal immigration and stop the influx of drugs.
Donald Trump emergency declaration slammed by conservative groups https://t.co/AFLJ4ni2O9 pic.twitter.com/A1xAHvdteP
— Newsweek (@Newsweek) February 17, 2019
Some of Graham’s Republican colleagues have expressed concern over Trump’s decision, however, arguing that declaring a national emergency to build a border wall is setting a dangerous precedent that future presidents could easily abuse.
Echoing these concerns, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi suggested that nothing would stop a future Democratic president from declaring a gun violence national emergency, according to CNBC.
