border wall
25 Articles

Exclusive: Full Text of Bipartisan Declaration of Former Senior U.S. Officials Refuting President’s Claim of a National Emergency at Southern Border
Document: Full Text of Declaration of Former Senior U.S. Officials on National Emergency Declaration for Southern Border.

Military Construction Funds and Local Politics that Will Shape GOP’s Stance on Trump’s Emergency Declaration
The politics of military construction will make the upcoming Senate vote on Trump's national emergency declaration a tough one for GOP members: they face a series of bad options…

Power Struggle Over the Wall: Presidential Emergency Powers vs. Congressional Power of the Purse
Powerful piece by former Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller)/Chief Financial Officer.
Bottom Line Up Front:
"If I had been directed, when I was Chief Financial Officer…

What You Need to Know about the “National Emergency Declaration”
Editor’s Note: This article was updated after the President’s announcement to add a fifth analysis. President Donald Trump declared a national emergency on Friday,…

A Caution to Pentagon Officials Asked to Obligate “National Emergency” Funds
The President reportedly is contemplating declaring there to be a “national emergency” at our southern border, and directing the Department of Defense (DoD) to finance the…

Terrorists and the Southern Border: Myth and Reality
"The Intelligence Community is almost certainly not able to stand publicly behind what the White House and DHS are saying."

Trump’s Plan to Have the Military Build a Wall is Illegal
As the shutdown stretches on, the Trump administration is beginning to realize the severity of its consequences for millions of Americans, and is desperately searching for a way…

Wrecking the Government to Build a Wall
Washington has muddled into and out of shutdowns before, but this one has the potential to be dangerously historic. The current impasse may become the straw that breaks the camel’s…

Getting Over the Wall
"The Wall is not the border security panacea that warrants the zero-sum brinkmanship that holds the federal workforce as a hostage."

Update: The Military, the Mexican Border and Posse Comitatus
Unlike the earlier deployment of National Guard personnel, the use of federal forces raises new issues concerning what they are permitted to do.

Exclusive: Mattis Drafting Specific Options for Using Defense Dollars to Pay for Trump’s Wall
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis feels that, at the very least, he owes Trump options for how the military could build the border wall, but all of them are fraught with political and…

Why We Need to Rethink the Mérida Initiative as a Function of National Security
Having suffered a stunning defeat in its efforts to reform healthcare and then securing a resounding win in its pursuit of across-the-board tax cuts, the Trump administration has…