An Army base on the border of Kentucky and Tennessee is suspending plans to build a new middle school because of the redirection of funds for military projects to build President Trump Donald John TrumpFederal prosecutor speaks out, says Barr 'has brought shame' on Justice Dept. Former Pence aide: White House staffers discussed Trump refusing to leave office Progressive group buys domain name of Trump's No. 1 Supreme Court pick MORE's wall.

The New York Times highlighted the suspension of work on the school planned for the base in a Thursday report noting the Pentagon's diversion of $62.6 million from the project.

As a result, the Times reported that the roughly 552 students will continue to attend school in a school facility that has been described as overcrowded, with not enough classroom space for both teachers and students.

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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellDemocratic senator to party: 'A little message discipline wouldn't kill us' House to vote on resolution affirming peaceful transition of power Republican lawyers brush off Trump's election comments MORE (R) had championed the school project, writing in a January op-ed for the Louisville Courier-Journal that he was proud of working to ensure that funding for Fort Campbell as well as two other bases was included in the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act.

"I secured much-needed assistance for Fort Campbell, Fort Knox, and the Blue Grass Army Depot, helping the men and women serving there keep America safe," McConnell wrote in January.

Trump announced earlier this year that he would shift funding from existing Defense Department projects to the construction of his planned wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. He did so after reopening the government, which was shuttered for weeks at the beginning of the year after Democrats in Congress did not provide him with funding for the wall.

McConnell's office told The Hill that the senator was working to protect funding for the project and blamed congressional Democrats for inaction on border security issues.

"Senator McConnell recently talked to Secretary Esper regarding the issue and is committed to protecting funding for the Ft. Campbell Middle School project," a spokesperson said, referring to Defense Secretary Mark Esper Mark EsperOvernight Defense: Stopgap spending measure awaits Senate vote | Trump nominates former Nunes aide for intelligence community watchdog | Trump extends ban on racial discrimination training to contractors, military Overnight Defense: Pentagon redirects pandemic funding to defense contractors | US planning for full Afghanistan withdrawal by May | Anti-Trump GOP group puts ads in military papers Official: Pentagon has started 'prudent planning' for full Afghanistan withdrawal by May MORE.

"Regrettably, Democrat opposition to secure our borders has now led to the potential delay of certain Military Construction projects. We would not be in this situation if Democrats were serious about protecting our homeland and worked with us to provide the funding needed to secure our borders during our appropriations process," McConnell's spokesperson added.