Q&A – How Much of The Wall Would Trump’s OBBB Complete?

There’s every indication from all corners of the GOP – that there will be full funding for the completion of the southern border wall – and most likely even more than is needed. 

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
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Speaker 2 (00:14):
You have questions, Brian has answers. It's time for today's
Q and A of today. This is the Brian Mud Show. Yeah,
today's Q and A. How about the wall?

Speaker 1 (00:29):
We'll be funded with the OBBB will be complete if
it passes the way this thing's facing. This is brought
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(00:52):
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maybe topicer question for a future Q and eight Today's

(01:13):
not this, Brian. I listened daily and heard you say
that Trump's Big Beautiful bill would allow for seven hundred
miles of southern border wall. Is that all that's left
to be completed? Why wouldn't they account for all of
the remaining border wall? Okay? So yeah, And about the wall,
this has been a topic of conversation over the past week.
We have developments on it over the past week, aside

(01:35):
from debating of what's going on with funding in Congress.
The President he had this to say, We're.

Speaker 2 (01:42):
Going to end up building more wall than even I built,
and we built a lot.

Speaker 1 (01:46):
We're going to build more wall than even I built.
He means we're going to do more of the time
round than we did my first time round. And so yes.
While recently hosting the Fraternal Order of Police at the
White House, President Trump was touting border security protections that
have been paid for within the current version of the
One Big, potentially esthetically placing Act. Specifically the number side

(02:12):
it was seven hundred miles. But how literal is that number?
How much of the southern border wall has been completed?
What is left to go? What's happening right now? Lots
of questions. Right, So let's dig in, and I'm going
to start with the refresh on what was completed. By
the end of Trump's first term as president. You had
four hundred and fifty eight miles of total constructed border wall,

(02:35):
three hundred and seventy two of which had been replaced
or expanded with the first Trump administration. They got in
there and they found out that a lot of the
wall was just not up to speed. Then you had
eighty eight miles that was newly expanded southern border protection.
And the bottom line is that fifty four percent of

(02:55):
our southern border with Mexico contained some type of border
area that had been reinforced, up from thirty four percent
pre Trump. So President Trump's Day one executive order restarting
construction of the southern border wall with the use of
existing DHS funds that the administration came into led to

(03:22):
the first related announcement in March Headline, Security Secretary Christino
announced that the Trump administration was ready to resume southern
border wall construction, that they had found the appropriate contractor
to get things started again, and construction that was stopped
on day one of the Biden administration was what was

(03:43):
targeted first, there was a seven mile stretch in Arizona
that was under construction the day that Biden became president
and ended it. So they wanted to finish where they
left off there, and the next piece of this happened
just last week. Last week, the administration announced the next
phase is a thirty six mile stretch between Arizona and

(04:07):
New Mexico. So those projects are able to be completed
with previously allocated funds. But as for what's left, according
to my estimates, and I will emphasize these are my
estimates based upon the best available information that I could find.
Doesn't mean it's empirical because it's hard to get really
precise information on this right now. But there were approximately

(04:32):
eight hundred and ninety seven miles of southern border that
lacked either a natural barrier or wall prior to Trump's
second administration. So with the two newly approved projects in
Arizona in New Mexico, by my number, that leaves about
eight hundred and fifty four miles to go. So that's

(04:53):
roughly that's a rough estimate, but it's it's obviously a
lot more than seven one hundred miles. So does that
mean that the One Big Beautiful Bill won't fully fund
it if it's passed as is, The answer is no.
In fact, there's more than enough money currently allocated. During

(05:14):
President Trump's first term, the average cost of building a
mile a border wall checked in at approximately six and
a half million, one more thing you can thank the
Biden administration for. According to the Department of Homeland Security,
those costs have now increased two twelve to fourteen million
dollars per mile, Isn't that Isn't that fun? Thank you Biden. Anyway,

(05:38):
So the inflated cost of finishing the border wall notwithstanding,
here's using my information and then the DHS cost testament,
what your range looks like in money that's needed to
finish the wall somewhere between ten and a quarter billion
dollars just under twelve just under twelve billion. So effectively,

(06:03):
as long as there's at least twelve billion in the
One Big Beautiful Bill for Enhanced Border Security, the wall
can be completed. Where do we stand? The Homeland Department
of Homeland Security requested forty five point six billion dollars
and the OBBB for Enhanced Border Security. As Secretary of
Christy Nomes said that in addition to completing the wall,

(06:25):
DHS needs to replace camera systems along the border, and
they also want to use enhanced technology like sensors and
drones to assist border patrol agents. The House Republican version
of the bill included the funding for this request, so
as of the version of the bill today, the costs
of completing the wall would be funded four times over. Basically.

(06:47):
In fact, this is the point of contention in the
Senning currently within the GOP Siner Republicans as probably where
been looking to get costs within the House version of
the One Big Beautiful Bill before passing they and you've
had senators like Rand Paul and Ron Johnson who are
supportive of building the wall that have still grilled Gnome
about all of the additional costs. In the words of

(07:09):
Ron Johnson and a hearing with Nome recently, he said,
I'm asking you and the Department to sharpen your pencil
on that wall request. It's more than you need. Rand
Paul said, we're off here by a factor of three
or four. We can't just throw another thirty billion out
there and say things cost a lot, which I mean,

(07:33):
it's a very ran polish kind of thing to say.
So it appears likely that the final number DHS will
receive will be lower than the greater than forty five
billion requested and originally passed in the House. However, there
is every indication from all corners of the GOP that
there will be funding that is sufficient for the completion

(07:53):
of the southern border wall, probably far more even than
this needed