'He always brings them up': Trump tries to steer border wall deal to North Dakota firm [View all]
Source: WAPO
By Nick Miroff and Josh Dawsey May 23 at 7:06 PM
?uuid=Nn4iyH11Eemx87Iz_lgR7w
President Trump has personally and repeatedly urged the head of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to award a border wall contract to a North Dakota construction firm whose top executive is a GOP donor and frequent guest on Fox News, according to four administration officials.
In phone calls, White House meetings and conversations aboard Air Force One during the past several months, Trump has aggressively pushed Dickinson, N.D.-based Fisher Industries to Department of Homeland Security leaders and Lt. Gen. Todd Semonite, the commanding general of the Army Corps, according to the administration officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive internal discussions. The push for a specific company has alarmed military commanders and DHS officials.
Semonite was summoned to the White House again Thursday, after the presidents aides told Pentagon officials including Gen. Mark Milley, the Armys chief of staff that the president wanted to discuss the border barrier. According to an administration official with knowledge of the Oval Office meeting, Trump immediately brought up Fisher, a company that sued the U.S. government last month after the Army Corps did not accept its bid to install barriers along the southern border, a contract potentially worth billions of dollars.
Tommy Fisher and his wife gave more than $10,000 the maximum allowable contribution to Cramer in 2018 as he ran for Senate, campaign finance records show. Fisher was Cramers guest at Trumps State of the Union speech in February, and the CEO said he shook the presidents hand afterward.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/he-always-brings-them-up-trump-tries-to-steer-border-wall-deal-to-north-dakota-firm/2019/05/23/92d3858c-7b30-11e9-8bb7-0fc796cf2ec0_story.html?utm_term=.c9af4a034db4