In an interview with Fox News this morning the man who Trump has nominated to be the new defense secretary, replacing General Mattis, says that Trump has given the military a legal and direct order to secure the border and they are going to be there to see it through:
FOX NEWS – Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said in an exclusive “Fox & Friends” interview Monday that there is a “crisis” at the southern border and he will follow President Trump’s “direct legal order” to provide security.
Shanahan, who will be nominated by President Trump to be defense secretary after serving since Jan. 1 in an interim capacity, was asked by Brian Kilmeade about critics who do not want Defense Department funds to be shifted to border security.
“We have a crisis at the border, a national emergency declared by the president,” he responded. “The commander-in-chief has given me a direct legal order to secure the border. I’m securing the border.”
Shanahan visited a border city in Texas on Saturday, where he noted that he intended to accelerate planning to secure the border and bolster the administration’s ability to accomplish that without the Pentagon’s continuous help.
He also offered assurances the Pentagon would not withdraw its military support prematurely.
“We’re gonna be here until the borders are secure,” he told Kilmeade. “We’ve got to have the backs of the men and women here who are being overrun.”
Shanahan told Congress this past week that there have been 4,364 military troops on the border, including active-duty and National Guard, building barriers, providing logistics and transportation service and other activities in support of Customs and Border Protection. The troops have been prohibited from performing law enforcement duties.
Troops have been deployed on the border since last October and are set to remain there through September.
I love the fact that Shanahan says “We’ve got to have the backs of the men and women here who are being overrun.”
As I’ve said all along I believe this is a great job for the military, to help secure our border. They aren’t performing law enforcement duties, but rather building infrastructure to keep Americans safe.
Watch the full interview above…