The White House said Tuesday that construction on the U.S.-Mexico border wall is paused to the extent possible, while acknowledging that some funding for wall construction has already been authorized by Congress.
“Wall construction remains paused to the extent permitted by law, so some has already been funded through [the] congressional authorization and funding allocation,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters. “[It’s] paused while agencies are developing a plan for the president on the management of federal funds.”
She said there is some “limited construction” that has been funded and allocated for, “but it is otherwise paused.”
Ms. Psaki had been asked about Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ recent comments to agency staff that there are still decisions to be made about filling “gaps” in the wall that might need renovation or might be part of projects still to be completed.
Right after taking office, President Biden had paused new construction and canceled a national emergency declaration by former President Trump that Mr. Trump used to siphon some money that had been earmarked for military projects to go toward the wall.
The Government Accountability Office is apparently investigating whether it’s legal for Mr. Biden to pause construction if Congress had previously allocated wall funding for that specific purpose.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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