Military Housing Target Of Trump's "Emergency"

Yesterday, after hilariously undermining his own absurd claim that an emergency exists on the border with Mexico, demagogue and pathological liar Donald "Rump" Trump jetted off to his tacky property Merde o' Lardo to get a weekend of golf in before he returns to Washington and his "executive time." Meanwhile, he's advancing a highly unpopular and authoritarian power grab to get funds for his manhood wall -- that Mexico was supposed to pay for-- from other Federal sources. One of those sources appears to be construction money for military housing, according to the Washington Post:

"Trump’s decision to tap the Pentagon’s budget for a nonmilitary purpose amounts to an end run around lawmakers on Capitol Hill, who hold the power of the purse in Washington and so far have refused to appropriate the sum Trump wants for the wall.

Using a national emergency declaration, Trump intends to draw $3.6 billion from already appropriated military construction funds that go to purposes as diverse as building hospitals on bases and overhauling barracks housing." (our emphasis)

In a separate report from Reuters, the Army has acknowledged severe problems with housing hazards including widespread mold at private facilities housing Army personnel. The problems were highlighted by Reuters after an exhaustive study of private housing provided under contract to the Army by private realtors:

"In an interview, the Secretary of the Army Mark Esper said Reuters reports and a chorus of concerns from military families had opened his eyes to the need for urgent overhauls of the Army’s privatized housing system, which accommodates more than 86,000 families.

The secretary’s conclusion: Private real estate firms tasked with managing and maintaining the housing stock have been failing the families they serve, and the Army itself neglected its duties."

Cadet Bone Spurs' proposed raid on the military's construction budget means that, if successful, there will be fewer options for military personnel to live in housing on base in new or overhauled barracks. From Reuters:

"While the recent concerns have focused on privatized base housing, some lawmakers warned Trump’s plan could exacerbate a housing crisis for military families.
“They will be forced to remain in ‘poor’ or ‘failing’ conditions,” Senator Tim Kaine, Democrat of Virginia, said in a statement on Friday.

The Army said it awaits details on how any shift in military construction funding would affect the largest armed service branch."

Rump and Rethuglicans care about the military when it comes to their availability for parades and to appear in campaign ads. The day-to-day lives of the armed forces are of far less concern to them, as they will pay the price -- not Mexico -- for Rump's vanity.