Sen. Jim Banks (R-IN) is introducing legislation to help President Donald Trump deliver on his number one campaign promise.
Banks is introducing the Border Security is National Security Act Wednesday to authorize $10 billion for the Department of Defense to execute its national security role at the border, Breitbart News has learned exclusively.
Trump wasted little time in declaring a national emergency on the southern border, and the Pentagon is already lawfully using existing appropriated funds to carry out border security operations using the military. Banks’ bill would specifically authorize funding for that purpose.
“For four years, Joe Biden allowed terrorists, drug traffickers, and violent criminals to invade our country and infiltrate our communities” Banks told Breitbart News in an exclusive statement. “My bill gives President Trump critical funding for the military to help secure our border and deport millions of illegal immigrants. This is a matter of national security and Congress must help the President get the job done.”
Tom Homan, President Trump’s Border Czar, recently called for Congress to allocate Pentagon funding for border security, saying, “Congress needs to come to the table quick and give us the money we need to secure that border.”
After authorizing funding, Congress must still allocate funding through the appropriations process. But Trump, who has also called for congressional action on border security, has made clear he will take whatever steps are within his power to act.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Monday that the “protection of the sovereign territory of the United States is the job of the Defense Department,” pledging “whatever is needed at the border will be provided.”
Hegseth acknowledged the Pentagon’s embrace of its national security role at the border will be a “shift” from prior administrations, particularly after four years of the Biden administration.
“This is not the way it was done in the past,” he said. “The Defense Department will support the defense of the territorial integrity of the United States of America’s southern border, including reservists, National Guardsmen and active-duty [personnel] in compliance with the Constitution and the laws of our land, and the directives of the commander in chief.”
In addition to military personnel and training costs, Banks’ bill will authorize surveillance systems, including autonomous surveillance towers, as well as installation of fences, barriers, patrol roads, and lighting.
The Border Security is National Security Act also will authorize military aviation costs, including deporting individuals in support of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) operations, counter-drone technology, and ground vehicles, including high mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicles. In addition to personnel and equipment, the bill will authorize funding for intelligence analysis.
Banks, a close ally of Trump, serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee and was one of Hegseth’s staunchest supporters during his confirmation battle.
“He conducted himself in a way that I think everyone in the room can agree that he’s qualified for the job, and time is of the essence to get him over to the Pentagon to get to work,” Banks told Breitbart News after Hegseth’s confirmation hearing.
Bradley Jaye is Deputy Political Editor for Breitbart News. Follow him on X/Twitter and Instagram @BradleyAJaye.
