Conway: Border wall remains a 'very important priority' for Trump

Source: Politico



By LOUIS NELSON 04/25/17 08:48 AM EDT

Speaking to Fox News’s “Fox & Friends,” Conway said funding for the wall can be secured in the future and that in the meantime, additional resources have been directed and will continue to be directed to border security measures. Trump has insisted from day one of his presidential campaign that Mexico will pay for the wall, but since taking office has backtracked away from that position somewhat, suggesting that it be funded with taxpayer dollars for the sake of expediency while maintaining that the U.S. will be reimbursed by the Mexican government in one form or another at some point in the future.

“Building that wall and having it funded remains an important priority to him. But we also know that that can happen later this year and into next year. And in the interim you see other smart technology and other resources and tools being used toward border security,” she said. “We’ll have those enhancements for border security and then moving on to funding and building the wall later on.”

Conway highlighted the executive order on immigration and border security signed by Trump on his sixth day in office and noted that illegal border crossings have hit a 17-year low. That dip, the counselor to the president said, is the result of Trump’s “resolve, plus the tools and resources” handed to immigration and border officials.

Money for the border wall would likely have been a major sticking point for Democrats should the president have insisted upon it in legislation that must pass this week in order to keep the government open. By deferring explicit funding for the wall into the future, Trump has removed one of the major obstacles to avoiding a government shutdown, one that would embarrassingly begin on his 100th day in office.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2017/04/25/kellyanne-conway-border-wall-trump-237570