Mar 26, 2019 - Politics & Policy

Pentagon directs $1 billion to go toward building Trump's border wall

Photo: Al Drago/Getty Images

The Pentagon notified Congress Monday it had authorized up to $1 billion in funding to go toward building President Trump's wall along the U.S. border with Mexico.

The details: Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan authorized the Army Corps of Engineers to plan and build 57 miles of 18-foot-high fencing in Yuma, Arizona, and El Paso, Texas, the Associated Press reports.

The backdrop: Trump declared a national emergency in February to push wall funding through, but 12 Republican senators voted against it. Trump made it clear before the vote he planned to veto the bill.

The big picture: The House was due to vote to override President Trump's veto Tuesday. However, the transfer to the Defense Department that Shanahan authorized was made without using the president's declaration, according to The New York Times.

Go deeper: Billions from military projects could fund Trump's border wall

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Axios
Updated 30 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 1:30 p.m. ET: 20,412,501 — Total deaths: 744,649— Total recoveries: 12,629,465 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 1:30 p.m. ET: 5,163,509 — Total deaths: 164,994 — Total recoveries: 1,714,960 — Total tests: 63,252,257 — Map.
  3. Politics: Pelosi on state of coronavirus stimulus talks: "It's a chasm"
  4. Business: U.S. already feeling effects of ending unemployment benefits.
  5. Public health: America is flying blind on its coronavirus response.
  6. Education: Gallup: America's confidence in public school system jumps to highest level since 2004.
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Orion Rummler
2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Pelosi on state of coronavirus stimulus talks: "It's a chasm"

Democrats and the Trump administration remain "miles apart" on negotiations over a coronavirus stimulus deal, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said on Wednesday.

Driving the news, via Axios' Dion Rabouin: Congress' failure to renew enhanced unemployment measures for millions of Americans at the end of July is already affecting consumer spending patterns, holding down retail purchases and foot traffic, economists at Deutsche Bank say.

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Barak Ravid
3 hours ago - World

U.S. threatens to veto UN peacekeeping in Lebanon over Hezbollah concerns

Peacekeepers with Lebanese troops in southern Lebanon. Photo: Jalaa Marey/AFP via Getty

The Trump administration is threatening to veto a resolution to extend the UN's long-standing peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon if its mandate isn't changed, Israeli and U.S. officials tell me.

Why it matters: The U.S. is the main funder of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which has an annual budget of $250 million. The veto threat is a tactical move, and part of a broader effort to put pressure on Iran and its proxy in Lebanon, Hezbollah.

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