With border crossings down, Sen. Rand Paul has started to express skepticism that President Donald Trump’s wall is still worth its hefty price tag.
But other Republican senators told NOTUS they consider the wall as important as ever.
“I think Senator Paul is an outlier on that,” Sen. John Cornyn said. “We need to do everything we can to secure the border, including funding the border wall.”
Under the GOP plan that passed the House, the Department of Homeland Security’s budget would increase to more than $100 billion, a significant boost from its previous budget of about $65 billion, in accordance with Trump’s budget wishlist. The House version also includes $51.6 billion to build and maintain the border wall.
At the same time, the administration’s crackdown on the border has resulted in a plummeting number of crossings, with fewer than 13,000 crossings reported by Customs and Border Protection this May, compared to more than 170,000 from the same time last year.
Paul, who is known for breaking with the party on some issues, suggested to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem in a hearing last month that a wall might not be necessary.
“You’re controlling 95% of the border without a wall right now. So that’s an argument that maybe you don’t need a wall,” he told Noem. “I know the wall has great symbolic value, but I think we should reassess.”
As chair of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, Paul drafted a budget framework for border security that would provide about $6.5 billion for border wall expenses. Sen. Lindsey Graham, chair of the Senate Budget Committee, released a competing proposal that allocated substantially more: about $46.5 billion for the border wall and other infrastructure.
Though Paul wasn’t the only senator to express some skepticism about the amount of money DHS requested to boost border security, he seems to be alone in questioning the border wall.
Even Sen. Ron Johnson, who is skeptical of the amount of money DHS is asking for, told NOTUS he still sees the wall as “absolutely” necessary.
“We need to give the president the resources to secure the border and deport the criminals, the gang members, the drug, human and sex traffickers,” he said, but also added, “We need to sharpen the pencil. I don’t think they need 46 and a half billion dollars for fencing.”
Few senators blinked at the number Republicans have proposed for border spending.
Sen. Rick Scott argued that the investment in border security “will actually save us money down the road.”
“I’d always like to save money, but I want to make sure the border’s secure,” he said. “Unfortunately, because of what the Democrats did, it’s gonna take a lot of money.”
Sen. Eric Schmitt said he “disagrees” with Paul’s conclusions on the wall.
“There’s a lot of things we need to do to maintain the security of the border, but also for the deportation effort,” he said.
Other Republican senators acknowledged that numbers are down at the border, but said the country still needs a wall for other reasons.
“I sure wish we didn’t need a wall, but Joe Biden showed us that next time the Democrats take over, they’re going to open the borders again,” Sen. Tim Sheehy said. “A wall will help give us the physical barrier that will hopefully transcend politics.”
A spokesperson for the White House said Republicans must fund Trump’s border efforts.
“Eighty million Americans sent President Trump back to the White House based on his promise to enforce immigration law and secure our border. And they gave Senate Republicans a majority to help President Trump fulfill that promise,” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement. “We’re confident all elected Republicans will keep their promises to the American people and permanently secure our border.”
Paul’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
Paul’s comments might make him unique within the GOP, but Democrats in the Senate were happy to hear it. Sen. Mark Kelly told NOTUS, “Most of that border wall system is not needed,” and that if Paul feels the same way, “I agree with him.”
“I think it’s a political thing for the president,” he said. “Now he’s trying to follow through regardless of the cost to the American taxpayer.”
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Casey Murray is a NOTUS reporter and an Allbritton Journalism Institute fellow.