WASHINGTON--U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said on Friday Mexico would repay the United States for his planned border wall, a day after news emerged that his transition team was exploring getting the Republican-led Congress to vote to approve the funding.
Trump told the New York Times he would most likely seek repayment through renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement, which groups the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Sean Spicer, a spokesman for Trump, said on Friday the incoming administration would need government funding to build the wall and that Trump said in October Mexico's payment would be a reimbursement. "The idea that we're going through the appropriations process and figuring out how to pay for it shouldn't be news," he told a briefing, confirming earlier reports on the funding.
Trump's promise to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, and make Mexico pay for it, was a major campaign theme and helped energize his supporters. The suggestion has infuriated Mexican officials who have said they would never agree to pay for a wall.
Trump may face resistance in Congress to the idea of the United States paying for the wall. Some Republican lawmakers worry about the high cost and question whether it is the best way to solve the complex issue of illegal migration.
Some conservative groups have called for a crackdown on benefits and jobs available to illegal migrants, which they say are a magnet for migration. Republican Representative Luke Messer told reporters on Friday he had proposed legislation to get Mexico to pay for the border wall by ending a child tax credit given to illegal immigrant parents, which he said cost $4.2 billion annually.
"If you close that loophole for two years, you could pay for the higher ticket cost," Messer said, referring to one estimate that a wall could cost $10 billion.
