The White House indicated Tuesday they would look elsewhere for money to fund border wall construction in order to possibly avoid a partial government shutdown over the upcoming funding bill.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said that administration lawyers were tasked with the idea, to find funds within the budget that the president could use for border security.
“We’re looking to those individuals to find out those specific pots of money that can be used for that,” Sanders confirmed during a press briefing on Tuesday. She did not detail specific areas for possible funding sources.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer warned the administration that it was illegal for them to shift funds elsewhere unless Congress specifically allowed it.
But Sanders dismissed Pelosi’s argument, optimistically pointing to ongoing White House legal discussions.
“In the meantime, we are also looking for other avenues that would allow us to provide and do our Constitutional authority and the president to be able to carry that out by protecting our border and protecting our citizens,” Sanders said.
The White House punted any details of ongoing negotiations with Democrats over wall spending, shifting the responsibility for funding the government to the Senate.
“The Senate has thrown out a lot of ideas,” Sanders said. “We are disappointed in the fact that they have yet to actually vote on something and pass something,”
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