The chairmen of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees responded along party lines Tuesday night to President Trump’s Oval Office address demanding more money for a border wall.
Rep. Adam Smith, the Washington state Democrat who just took over the House Armed Services Committee chair, slammed the televised speech, tweeting that Mr. Trump “continues to mislead and lie to the American people about immigration & border security to justify the #TrumpShutdown that is hurting families & communities across the country.”
In his first Oval Office televised address Tuesday evening, the president called on Congress to supply additional funding for a southern border wall to fix a “growing humanitarian and security crisis,” adding that the wall is “also what our professionals at the border want and need.”
Sen. Jim Inhofe, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, praised Mr. Trump’s remarks, saying the president “made it clear tonight that the Democrat obstruction to his border wall is about putting politics over policies that will protect American families from drugs, human trafficking and crime.”
The Oklahoma lawmaker also went after Democrats in a tweet late Tuesday, contending that Democrats “are willing to oppose any policy, even ones they have supported n the past, just to oppose” Mr. Trump.
The Hill’s defense committees could be in the center of the funding fight over the wall if Mr. Trump follows through on a threat to declare a national emergency on the southern border and taps Defense Department Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) supplemental funds for the project.
In order to access these funds, the new spending must be authorized and approved by both the House and Senate armed services panels.
• Lauren Toms can be reached at lmeier@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.