Armed Services chairman: Trump 'doesn't really understand' border security

BY MICHAEL BURKE - 01/06/19 09:41 AM EST

The new chairman of the House Armed Services Committee on Sunday said President Trump "doesn't really understand" border security as Trump continues to demand that a wall be built along the border with Mexico.

Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) also said during an appearance on ABC's "This Week" that there is "no evidence whatsoever" that the southern border needs a wall, adding that portions of the border already have one.

"The president doesn't really understand the issue," he said. "A concrete barrier is not going to automatically stop people from coming."

“The wall is not in itself a bad idea," Smith added. "It’s just that it’s been done. And what the president has not done is he has not made the case that on the portions of the border where a wall has not been built, how is a wall going to enhance border security? There is no evidence whatsoever that that’s necessary.”

The federal government is currently in its third week of a partial shutdown that was sparked because of Trump's demand for $5 billion in funding for the border wall. Lawmakers have been at odds over that demand, with Democrats pledging not to fund a wall.

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https://thehill.com/homenews/sunday-talk-shows/424047-armed-services-committee-chair-trump-doesnt-really-understand