Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) said he's confident President Trump will get the money he wants to build a border wall, which is a "mandate" from the American people. (Screen grab from Fox News)

(CNSNews.com) - Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) said he's confident that President Trump will get the $1.6 billion he has requested to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.

"This is a mandate that came from the American people. The mandate says build the wall. The president said he is going to build the wall," King told Fox News's Tucker Carlson on Wednesday.

We build interstate highways across expensive Iowa cornfields for $4 million a mile that pays for real estate and everything. We can build a wall cheaper than we can build an interstate. And we need to do it, and it will pay for itself, I believe, before we can even get it completed. And especially because in the end, if we do a good job on this wall, we are going to need not more boots on the ground to enforce it, but less boots on the ground because there will be few people that try and fewer places where they can get in. This makes complete sense to me, Tucker. And I hope we have a strong national debate over it.

President Trump said on Monday that he intends to build his wall, even if it means shutting down the government:

King noted that if Trump does veto an appropriations bill because it lacks funding for the wall, Congress would have to override the veto. But King said there won't be enough votes to override the veto, "and eventually this will get done."

"This is going to be -- this is a legacy for Donald Trump, but more importantly than that, it's -- the wall is a monument to the rule of law,” King said. “And that's the difference between a third world and first world. And I will say that if you look around the world, there have been many walls built throughout history." King said walls that are built to keep people out are "moral" and "they work."

King also noted that Democrats are ready to shut down the government if they don't get hundreds of millions of dollars in funding for Planned Parenthood:

"Whose principles are stronger here?" King asked. "The Democrats, wanting to fund the abortion that comes out of Planned Parenthood? Or the Republicans like me and the president who want to follow through on the mandate that came from the American people. This (the wall) will get done. The funding will come through. I'm very confident of it. I say it out loud here. Because I believe it will come true."

King said he believes House Speaker Paul Ryan "has a commitment" to funding a border wall, even though "he lacks the enthusiasm that I have."

Ryan told a gathering in Oregon on Wednesday that most people don't want to see a government shutdown. He also noted that the House has already passed an appropriations bill giving Trump the full $1.6 billion he requested for the wall. The sticking point is in the Senate.



Also See:

Trump’s Border Wall Request Equals 0.035% of Federal Spending

