Secretary of Defense Mark Esper authorized the Pentagon on Tuesday to allocate $3.6 billion toward 11 military construction projects for President Trump's border wall, CNN reports.
The big picture: Trump is getting all the Pentagon funding that he sought — about $3.6 million from the department's military construction fund — from declaring a national emergency over the border crisis in February. In July, the Supreme Court ruled that Trump's reprogramming of Pentagon funds for the border wall is permissible. Deputy Under Secretary of Defense Comptroller Elaine McCusker expects construction at the border to start in about 135 days, per CNN.
Read Esper's letter: