Dear Friend,

It has to stop. President Trump is not a king who can rob the Treasury. Without constitutional authority, President Trump is taking $3.6 billion to pay for his vanity wall from accounts meant to support and repair our military bases. Additionally, this comes at a time when more than $11 billion is needed to repair bases that have been ravaged by recent natural disasters. This irresponsible action by the President jeopardizes military readiness and defies our Constitution.

As Chairman of the Armed Services Committee’s Readiness Subcommittee, which oversees and authorizes this funding, I’m speaking out and taking action. Here’s what I told the New York Times when they asked about this development:

“Every project that has been affected has gone through a rigorous multiyear review of the appropriateness and necessity of the construction process,” said Representative John Garamendi, Democrat of California, who oversees the House Armed Services Readiness Subcommittee. In an interview, he said he had not yet spoken with [Secretary of Defense] Mr. Esper, but warned “it will not be a pleasant conversation for him.”

This year, I successfully fought for language prohibiting Trump from raiding these funds in the House’s must-pass version of the National Defense Authorization Act. We still have to conference our bill with the Senate, and I will be at the negotiating table fighting for this language to ensure no President can make a mockery of our Constitution and service members while ignoring the Congressional appropriation process.

I will always fight for our nation’s security and safety, and I won’t allow the President to behave like a tyrant. I welcome your thoughts on this issue.

Thank you for your support.

Sincerely,

John Garamendi