Trump to seek another $8.6 billion for border wall

US President Trump, it seems like will not be letting go off the wall very soon. The president is set set to ask Congress for $8.6 billion to deliver on his signature campaign promise in the 2020 budget request, likely triggering another fight with Congress.

The request would far exceed the $5.7 billion Trump demanded last year, which led to an impasse that resulted in a 35-day partial shutdown of the US government, the longest ever. In addition to the wall budget, he will also ask for cutting non-military spending of the federal budget, which will add $5 billion to the Department of Homeland Security’s budget and $3.6 billion from the Department of Defense’s military construction funds.

However, another legislative defeat maybe awaiting the president, warn Democratic congressional leaders Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer.

In a joint statement, Pelosi and Schumer charged that Trump "hurt millions of Americans and caused widespread chaos when he recklessly shut down the government to try to get his expensive and ineffective wall." "Congress refused to fund his wall and he was forced to admit defeat and reopen the government. The same thing will repeat itself if he tries this again. We hope he learned his lesson," they said.

The wall has become a nightmare for Trump. While the last demand led to a stand-off and a 35-day partial government shutdown, a setback now could set the tone for his 2020 campaign.

The president's request for wall funding will come in the form of USD 5 billion from the Department of Homeland Security and another USD 3.6 billion from the Pentagon.

That will be on top of the USD 6.7 billion in wall funding that Trump has ordered redirected from other government programs under a national emergency he declared last month.

He declared the emergency after the Congress approved only USD 1.375 billion for construction of 55 miles (90 kilometers) of barriers along the border in Texas. Also there is confusion as to what the wall exactly is.