Republican congressman calls on Trump to use ‘own funds’ to help pay for border wall
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Republican Rep. Walter Jones has said lawmakers shouldn't contribute to the national debt when coming up with a compromise for the border wall funding. (Getty Images)
President Trump should contribute his own money to fund his oft-promised border wall, GOP Rep. Walter Jones suggested last week.
The North Carolina Republican’s suggestion came as the government remained partially shuttered, with both sides gridlocked over funding for a barrier on the U.S.-Mexico border. Jones stressed that whatever compromise lawmakers reach in regards to the funding, the national debt should not be added to.
“We can’t afford to keep financing the provision of government services by borrowing more and more money,” Jones said in a statement. “It’s morally irresponsible and it’s got to stop.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“As a wealthy man, the president might consider pledging some of his own funds as well.”
Jones said border security is “essential” and funding should be “found internally” if Mexico won’t fork over money to help pay for it – something Trump has often promised would happen.
“As a wealthy man, the president might consider pledging some of his own funds as well,” Jones said.
PARTIAL GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN DRAGS INTO 2019 WITH NO END IN SIGHT
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Jones also suggested slashing federal aid or funding the war in Afghanistan as ways to come up with the extra money.
Earlier this month, military veteran Brian Kolfage drew national media attention for creating a GoFundMe page to raise money for the wall. As of Monday morning, the GoFundMe account had garnered more than $18.4 million from more than 304,000 donors.
Since the federal government partially shut down on Dec. 22, Republicans and Democrats have been at a seeming impasse over Trump’s demands for $5 billion for a border wall. Trump continued to press Democrats to "give us the votes necessary for border security" in a series of tweets on New Year's Eve.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}House Democrats said they plan to introduce a legislative package later Monday to re-open the government, including a bill that would fund the Department of Homeland Security at current levels through Feb. 8 with $1.3 billion for border security, but it's unclear what kind of support it will get from Republicans. It did not include money for the wall.
Fox News' Alex Pappas contributed to this report.