Trump plan could divert funding from long-sought Louisiana project to build border wall

WASHINGTON — The White House may tap Army Corps of Engineers post-disaster construction funds under a proposal President Donald Trump is considering to declare a national emergency and bypass a funding standoff with Congress over the proposed barrier at the U.S.-Mexico border, multiple news organizations reported on Thursday.

Several long-sought flood-control projects in Louisiana — including the Comite River Diversion Canal and the West Shore Lake Pontchartrain Hurricane Protection Project — could lose funding if Trump raids the $13.9 billion disaster fund created by Congress last year to beef up defenses in Puerto Rico, Texas, Florida, Louisiana and other flood-hit states.

Trump hasn’t decided whether to declare an emergency but indicated Thursday he’s moving closer to doing so in an effort to end a stalemate over money to build a barrier along the U.S.-Mexico border, a frequent Trump campaign pledge which Democrats have sharply criticized.

The Associated Press, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, Fox News and others all reported the White House had ordered the Corps of Engineers to review projects slated for construction under the fund. Louisiana received a total of $1.2 billion for Corps of Engineers projects.

Read more: https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/politics/article_8bd4f02e-153f-11e9-99d9-bbac1d27279c.html