Former President Donald Trump diverted funds from the Department of Defense in 2019 to help fund his border wall with Mexico, using his emergency powers to move the money after Congress refused to provide the billions of dollars he demanded. On Friday, President Joe Biden canceled the projects funded by the military accounts.
“Consistent with the President’s Proclamation terminating the redirection of funds for border wall, no more money will be diverted from other purposes to building a border wall,” a Biden administration official said, according to The Hill. “Today, the Department of Defense will begin canceling all wall projects using the diverted funds, and will take steps to return remaining unobligated military construction funds to their appropriated purpose as permitted by law.”
Any unspent funds will be returned to their original accounts and purposes, which include construction projects on military bases and reserve equipment for the National Guard.
The White House also said that it would use some of the $1.4 billion appropriated for the border wall to repair environmental damage resulting from previous construction efforts.
