The Department of Defense opted not to complete at least three border wall construction projects, at least for the time being, because the undertaking is too expensive.
According to a new court filing on Monday, flagged by Politico, the Defense Department determined it couldn’t afford the project, which would’ve built 20 miles of fencing and other border infrastructure like lights and would’ve cost $2.5 billion. The Pentagon determined last month that it could divert funding from the Army Corps counter-drug fund to pay for the project.
But the Army Corps ultimately decided the funds wouldn’t cover the total project.
The move is just the latest in a series of complications following President Trump’s decision earlier this year to declare a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border and use Defense Department funding to help pay for his wall — the cornerstone of his 2016 campaign.
Trump made the decision after a gridlocked Congress refused to fund his wall and the government went into a weeks-long partial shutdown.
Read the filing below:
