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Message: <blockquote data-quote="SueEllenRules!" data-source="post: 40121" data-attributes="member: 87">Hill Republicans revolt over Trump's plans to build border wallPresident Donald Trump's plan to build a wall on the border with Mexico is facing a major problem: A wall of resistance from his own party.<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">A growing number of congressional Republicans are objecting to the cost and viability of a proposal that was a rallying cry for the billionaire businessman during his insurgent campaign. Interviews with more than a dozen GOP lawmakers across the ideological spectrum suggest Trump could have a difficult time getting funding for his plan approved by Congress.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Many bluntly told CNN they'd likely vote against any Trump plan that is not fully offset with spending cuts, while others questioned whether Trump's vision would adequately resolve the problems at the border.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">"If you're going to spend that kind of money, you're going to have to show me where you're going to get that money," said Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a key swing vote who has already broken with Trump over his nominee for secretary of education.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">"I don't see how you can get a bill like that through (Congress) without offsets," she added. "I don't see how that's possible."</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Trump's wall already faces legal hurdles given the likelihood that it could spawn lawsuits at the border. But if Congress doesn't go along with his funding plan, it could effectively stall Trump's proposal right out of the gate. House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said last week that the cost could range from $12 billion-$15 billion, while Ryan suggested that the project may not be fully offset with spending cuts, saying the wall is "a national security priority."</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Sen. John Cornyn, the No. 2 Senate Republican who represents the border state of Texas, was deeply skeptical about whether a wall alone would be enough to deter immigrants from entering the country illegally. And he issued a stark warning to Trump.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">"I have concerns about spending un-offset money, which adds to the debt, period," Cornyn said bluntly when asked about the wall. "I don't think we're just going to be able to solve border security with a physical barrier because people can come under, around it and through it."</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Trump has increasingly said that Congress would fund the wall initially but would later be reimbursed completely by Mexico. But prominent Republicans say flatly that they don't think Mexico will pay the United States back — and Mexican leadership has repeatedly said the same — meaning that taxpayers would be left holding the bag.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">"No," Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain said when asked if he thought Mexico would reimburse the United States for the wall. "It's not a viable option."</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">McCain added: "If you only build a wall, only a 'wall,' without using technology, individuals, drones, observations, etc., you're not going to secure the border."</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Still, Trump wants to move quickly on the wall, within the first quarter of this year. And even if he asks for spending cuts to pay the wall, sources on the House and Senate appropriations committees say finding upwards of $15 billion in reductions would be extraordinarily difficult, especially in the middle of the fiscal year.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">After last week's party retreat in Philadelphia, many Republicans also voiced concerns that there isn't enough focus on reducing the debt and deficit — especially as Trump pushes Congress to green-light new infrastructure projects aside from the wall.</li> </ul><a href="https://apple.news/A_ZsZUrUbRc2EqNbOyn1ReQ" target="_blank">https://apple.news/A_ZsZUrUbRc2EqNbOyn1ReQ</a></blockquote>

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