Trump plans to steal $7.2 billion more from the Pentagon — because Mexico won’t pay for his wall

President Donald Trump intends to escalate his efforts to pay for his border wall without Congress authorizing the funds, according to a new report in The Washington Post.

During his campaign for president, Trump continuously promised that Mexico would pay for his wall. That promise has been unfilled, as Mexico has repeatedly said they would never pay for the wall, but Trump has insisted on building it anyway.

"President Trump is preparing to divert an additional $7.2 billion in Pentagon funding for border wall construction this year, five times what Congress authorized him to spend on the project in the 2020 budget," The Post reported, citing "internal planning figures" the newspaper obtained.

"The Pentagon funds would be extracted, for the second year in a row, from military construction projects and counternarcotics funding. According to the plans, the funding would give the government enough money to complete approximately 885 miles of new fencing by Spring 2022, far more than the 509 miles the administration has slated for the U.S. border with Mexico," the paper explained. "Trump took $2.5 billion from military counterdrug programs for border barrier construction in 2019, but this year his administration is planning to take significantly more — $3.5 billion. Trump administration officials also are planning to take $3.7 billion in military construction funding, slightly more than the $3.6 billion diverted in 2019."

That would bring the total spent by U.S. taxpayers -- not Mexico -- to $18.4 billion.