WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — On January 25, Trump signed an executive order that initiated the process of building the wall on the US southern border with Mexico.
"We do expect to include some money in a future supplemental for 2017 for the wall and a 2018 budget will also contain some longer-term numbers for that," Mulvaney stated at the White House press briefing.
The most recent estimates peg it at $21.6 billion, almost twice the $12-billion price tag Trump claimed during his campaign.
The wall, which would take at least three years to build, would be built in three phases, to cover some 1,250 miles (2,000 km) of the border, according to an internal report expected to be presented to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary John Keller. This will join the 654 miles of wall previously fortified by President George W. Bush, and will cover nearly the entire 2,000 mile border.
During his 2016 presidential campaign and after winning the election, Trump has repeatedly claimed that the Mexican government would be responsible for paying for the wall construction.
