Congressional Democrats Balk After Trump Says Mexico Will Fund Border Wall Through USMCA
President Donald Trump, whose demands for more border wall funding have run aground in Congress, tweeted early on Dec. 13 that the revised NAFTA will save so much more money that it pays for the wall. He said: "Our new deal with Mexico (and Canada), the USMCA, is so much better than the old, very costly & anti-USA NAFTA deal, that just by the money we save, MEXICO IS PAYING FOR THE WALL!"
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House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California responded to the tweet later on Dec. 13, saying during a press conference, "I mean really? Really? First of all, he doesn't even have the trade agreement. Let's see the enforcement for the agreement. For the environment. For the workers' rights." She also suggested that to get passage, there'd need to be changes to pharmaceutical provisions. "We are not there yet." And, she said, even if the new NAFTA were to be ratified, what Trump said "doesn't make any sense. What money? The money that businesses make? What money is he talking about ... it just makes no sense."
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., whose caucus is key to getting the remaining appropriations done, said in a speech in the Senate, "Just this morning, the president tweeted that Mexico will pay for the wall through savings from the new NAFTA. Well, Mr. President: If you say Mexico is going to pay for the wall through NAFTA, which it certainly won’t, then I guess we don’t have to! Let’s fund the government."