Lolita C. Baldor
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, walks to greet President Donald Trump's pick for national security adviser John Bolton, right, as Bolton arrives at the Pentagon, Thursday, March 29, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
March 29, 2018 - 1:59 PM
WASHINGTON - The Pentagon says Defence Secretary Jim Mattis has talked with President Donald Trump about the possibility that the Defence Department could fund the long-promised border wall with Mexico.
Chief Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White said Thursday that the two "talked about the proposal, potentially." But she said she didn't know when the conversation occurred.
White says that securing the nation is of paramount importance to Mattis.
She was asked if paying $25 billion for the wall might hurt Mattis' key priority of rebuilding the military. She says Trump and Mattis agree that the U.S. military must stay the most lethal in the world.
Trump recently tweeted that building "a great Border Wall" is "all about National Defence" and he called to "Build WALL through M!" — the military.
News from © The Associated Press, 2018