Top Trump officials huddling on immigration

Members of President Trump’s Cabinet are reportedly expected to meet Tuesday at the White House to discuss issues related to border security and funding for Trump’s proposed wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Defense Secretary James Mattis and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen are set to attend the meeting, administration officials told CNN.

The meeting is expected to cover a range of issues related to defense and Trump’s proposal to use funds that Congress appropriated for the Pentagon to construct a border wall.

Trump has reportedly floated the idea to aides and Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), calling it a national security issue. He suggested in a meeting last week that the Pentagon’s massive budget could cover the costs of a southern border wall.

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The $1.3 trillion omnibus spending bill passed by Congress last month allocated $1.6 billion for border security and included restrictions on how the money can be spent, paving the way for it to go toward fencing and levees. 

The funding was far short of the $25 billion demanded by Trump for construction of his proposed border wall. The president has previously declared that Mexico would foot the bill for the wall.

The Pentagon has indicated that a reallocation of defense funds for the wall would likely require congressional approval, while Senate Democrats have suggested the move could be illegal.

The administration officials are reportedly also set to discuss the “caravans” of migrants panned by Trump in several tweets this week – a group of nearly 1,100 people traveling through Mexico to find political asylum in the United States.

The meeting did not appear on the White House schedule for Tuesday.