President Trump, who signed a $1.3 trillion spending bill last week, is frustrated with the amount Congress provided to finance a U.S.-Mexico border wall and is pressing to use money dedicated to the military. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images) 
 
 President Trump, who repeatedly insisted during the 2016 campaign that Mexico would pay for a wall along the southern border, is privately pushing the U.S. military to fund construction of his signature project. 
 
 Trump has told advisers that he was spurned in a large spending bill last week when lawmakers appropriated only $1.6 billion for the border wall. He has suggested to Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and congressional leaders that the Pentagon could fund the sprawling project, citing a “national security” risk. 
 
 After floating the notion to several advisers last week, Trump told House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) that the military should pay for the wall, according to three people familiar with the meeting last Wednesday in the White House residence. Ryan offered little ­reaction to the idea, these people said, but senior Capitol Hill officials later said it was an unlikely prospect. 
 
 The president’s pursuit of defense dollars to finance the U.S.-Mexico border wall underscores his determination to fulfill a campaign promise and build the barrier despite resistance in the Republican-led Congress. The administration’s last-minute negotiations with lawmakers to secure billions more for the wall failed, and Trump grudgingly signed the spending bill Friday after a short-lived veto threat. 
 
 Four days later, Trump continued to express regret over signing the $1.3 trillion package, which funded the government and averted a shutdown, saying it was a mistake and he should have followed his instincts. 
 
 In another interaction with senior aides last week, Trump noted that the Defense Department was getting so much ­money as part of the spending bill that the Pentagon could surely afford the border wall, two White House officials said. The Pentagon received about $700 billion in the spending package, which Trump repeatedly lauded as “historic.” 
 
 Meanwhile, the $1.6 billion in the bill for some fencing and levees on the border not only fell far short of the $25 billion that Trump was seeking, but it also came with tight restrictions on how the money could be spent. 
 
 The individuals and officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to talk freely about private discussions. 
 
 [Trump signs massive spending bill, but not before a little drama] 
 
 White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders deflected a question Tuesday about money dedicated to the military being used to fund construction of the wall. 
 
 “I can’t get into the specifics of that at this point, but I can tell you that the continuation of building the wall is ongoing, and we’re going to continue moving forward in that process,” Sanders told reporters. 
 
 “Build WALL through M!” Trump recently wrote on Twitter. He retweeted those words Tuesday, noting that “our Military is again rich.” Two advisers said “M” stood for “military.” 
 
 The president has suggested to Mattis that his department, instead of the Department of Homeland Security, could fund the construction, two Trump advisers said. But the military is not likely to fund the wall, according to White House and Defense Department officials. 
 
 The Pentagon has plenty of money, but reprogramming it for a wall would require votes in Congress that the president does not seem to have. Taking money from the 2018 budget for the wall would require an act of Congress, a senior Pentagon official said. 
 
 To find the money in the 2019 defense budget, Trump would have to submit a budget amendment that would require 60 votes in the Senate, the official said. 
 
 Democrats in Congress would probably chafe at military spending going to the construction of a border wall, and military officials may also blanch, White House advisers said. 
 
 Defense hawks in the Republican ranks would balk at taking money now dedicated to the Pentagon for aircraft, weapons and improvements to the armed forces’ readiness and instead steering it toward construction of the wall. 
 
 “First Mexico was supposed to pay for it, then U.S. taxpayers, and now our men and women in uniform?” Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in a statement to The Washington Post. “This would be a blatant misuse of military funds and tied up in court for years. Secretary Mattis ought not bother and instead use the money to help our troops, rather than advance the president’s political fantasies.” 
 
 Trump has grown frustrated watching constant TV criticism of the spending package and is determined to find a new way to fund the wall, several advisers said, privately grousing that his political supporters could become disenchanted without progress. After a recent trip to see prototypes of the wall in California, Trump has grown more animated by the issue, advisers said. 
 
 
 
 The president’s comments raising the possibility of using Pentagon funds to build the wall came after the collapse of negotiations with Democrats to secure $25 billion in long-term wall funding in exchange for protections for young immigrants at risk for deportation because of Trump’s cancellation of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. 
 
 The White House offered three years of protections for DACA recipients, according to multiple congressional aides, but Democrats demanded ­pro­tections for a larger group of “dreamers,” including those who never applied or are ineligible for DACA. The negotiations fell apart before the spending bill was drafted and passed last week. 
 
 [‘Trump blew it’: The president missed his best chance yet to get funding for his border wall] 
 
 The urgency to strike a deal reflected the growing sense that the spending bill represented the last chance for the Trump administration to secure substantial wall funding, at least in the president’s first term. Top Republicans believe it is all but certain that Democrats will gain House seats in November’s midterm elections — and perhaps take the majority — greatly enhancing their bargaining position in future spending negotiations. 
 
 Only $641 million is earmarked for new primary fencing in areas that have no barriers, and most of the money can be spent only on “operationally effective designs” that were deployed as of last May. That means the prototype designs the Trump administration is exploring cannot be built, except along a stretch of the border near San Diego where a barrier is already in place. 
 
 Greg Jaffe contributed to this report. ||||| FILE - In this Dec. 11, 2018, file photo, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington. The White House on Sunday, Dec. 16, pushed the federal government... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE - In this Dec. 11, 2018, file photo, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington. The White House on Sunday, Dec. 16, pushed the federal government closer to the brink of a partial shutdown later this week, digging in on its demand for $5 billion... (Associated Press) 
 
 WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on negotiations over funding President Donald Trump wants for a U.S.-Mexico border wall and the possibility of a partial government shutdown (all times local): 
 
 11 a.m. 
 
 White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders says the White House is willing to work with Congress to avert a partial government shutdown. 
 
 President Donald Trump has been demanding $5 billion to fund his long-promised U.S.-Mexico border wall, but Democrats have balked at giving him any more than $1.6 billion for border security. A shutdown could happen at midnight Friday. 
 
 Sanders said on Fox News on Tuesday there are "other ways that we can get to that $5 billion," including one bill she says would provide $26 billion in border security, including $1.6 billion for the wall. 
 
 She says, "That's something that we would be able to support" as long as it's coupled with other funding, such as using defense money on border security. 
 
 She adds that, "At the end of the day, we don't want to shut down the government. We want to shut down the border from illegal immigration." 
 
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 12:30 a.m. 
 
 Few if any signs of progress are emerging as President Donald Trump and Democratic lawmakers continue their standoff over funding the government and avoiding a partial shutdown at midnight Friday. 
 
 The main sticking point is Trump's demand for $5 billion to build a border wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. 
 
 Even a partial shutdown would leave hundreds of thousands of federal employees furloughed or working without pay over the holiday season. Costs would likely be in the billions of dollars. 
 
 Trump doesn't have the votes from the Republican-led Congress to support his demand for border wall construction. Democrats are offering to continue funding at current levels, $1.3 billion, not for the wall but for fencing and other border security. ||||| In this March 13, 2018 photo, President Donald Trump speaks during a tour as he reviews border wall prototypes in San Diego. Trump hails the start of his long-sought southern border wall, proudly tweeting... (Associated Press) 
 
 In this March 13, 2018 photo, President Donald Trump speaks during a tour as he reviews border wall prototypes in San Diego. Trump hails the start of his long-sought southern border wall, proudly tweeting... (Associated Press) 
 
 WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump hailed the start of his long-sought U.S.-Mexico border wall this past week, proudly tweeting photos of the "WALL!" Actually, no new work got underway. The photos showed the continuation of an old project to replace 2 miles of existing barrier. 
 
 And on Saturday, he ripped Amazon with a shaky claim that its contract with the post office is a "scam." 
 
 Trump and his officials departed from reality on a variety of subjects in recent days: the census, Amazon's practices and the makeup of the Supreme Court among them. Here's a look at some statements and their veracity: 
 
 TRUMP: "Great briefing this afternoon on the start of our Southern Border WALL!" — tweet Wednesday, showing photos of workers building a fence. 
 
 TRUMP: "We're going to be starting work, literally, on Monday, on not only some new wall -- not enough, but we're working that very quickly -- but also fixing existing walls and existing acceptable fences." — Trump, speaking the previous week after signing a bill financing the government. 
 
 THE FACTS: Trump's wrong. No new work began on Monday or any other time this past week. And the photos Trump tweeted were misleading. They showed work that's been going on for more than a month on a small border wall replacement project in Calexico, California, that has nothing to do with the federal budget he signed into law last week. 
 
 The Calexico project that began Feb. 21 to replace a little more than 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) of border wall was financed during the 2017 budget year. A barrier built in the 1990s mainly from recycled metal scraps is being torn down and replaced with bollard-style barriers that are 30 feet (9.1 meters) high. 
 
 Ronald D. Vitiello, acting deputy commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, defended the president's statements, saying Friday "there's construction" underway. 
 
 ___ 
 
 TRUMP: "If the P.O. 'increased its parcel rates, Amazon's shipping costs would rise by $2.6 Billion.' This Post Office scam must stop. Amazon must pay real costs (and taxes) now!" — tweet Saturday. 
 
 TRUMP: "I have stated my concerns with Amazon long before the Election. Unlike others, they pay little or no taxes to state & local governments, use our Postal System as their Delivery Boy (causing tremendous loss to the U.S.), and are putting many thousands of retailers out of business!" — tweet Thursday. 
 
 THE FACTS: Trump is misrepresenting Amazon's record on taxes, the U.S. Postal Service's financial situation and the contract that has the post office deliver some Amazon orders. Federal regulators have found that contract to be profitable for the Postal Service. 
 
 People who buy products sold by Amazon pay sales tax in all states that have a sales tax. Not all third-party vendors using Amazon collect it, however. 
 
 As for the post office, package delivery has been a bright spot for a service that's lost money for 11 straight years. The losses are mostly due to pension and health care costs — not the business deal for the Postal Service to deliver packages for Amazon. Boosted by e-commerce, the Postal Service has enjoyed double-digit increases in revenue from delivering packages, but that hasn't been enough to offset declines in first-class letters and marketing mail, which together make up more than two-thirds of postal revenue. 
 
 While the Postal Service's losses can't be attributed to its package business, Trump's claim that it could get more bang for its buck may not be entirely far-fetched. A 2017 analysis by Citigroup concluded that the Postal Service was charging below-market rates as a whole for parcels. The post office does not use taxpayer money for its operations. 
 
 Trump is upset about Amazon because its owner, Jeff Bezos, owns The Washington Post, one of the targets of his "fake news" tweets. 
 
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 TRUMP: "Because of the $700 & $716 Billion Dollars gotten to rebuild our Military, many jobs are created and our Military is again rich. Building a great Border Wall, with drugs (poison) and enemy combatants pouring into our Country, is all about National Defense. Build WALL through M!" — tweets Sunday and Monday. 
 
 THE FACTS: Trump is floating the idea of using "M'' — the Pentagon's military budget — to pay for his wall with Mexico. Such a move would almost certainly require approval from Congress and there's plenty of reason to be skeptical about the notion of diverting military money for this purpose. 
 
 Only Congress has the power under the Constitution to determine federal appropriations, leaving the Trump administration little authority to shift money without lawmakers' approval. 
 
 Pentagon spokesman Chris Sherwood referred all questions on the wall to the White House. Spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders declined to reveal specifics, but said Trump would work with the White House counsel to make sure any action taken was within his executive authority. 
 
 ___ 
 
 DAVID SHULKIN, citing reasons Trump fired him as Veterans Affairs secretary: "I have been falsely accused of things by people who wanted me out of the way. But despite these politically based attacks on me and my family's character, I am proud of my record and know that I acted with the utmost integrity." — op-ed Thursday in The New York Times. 
 
 THE FACTS: His statement that he and his family were subjected to politically based attacks is disingenuous, though politics contributed to his dismissal. 
 
 White House support for Shulkin eroded after a blistering report in February by VA's internal watchdog, a non-partisan office. The inspector general's office concluded that he had violated ethics rules by accepting free Wimbledon tennis tickets. The inspector general also said Shulkin's chief of staff had doctored emails to justify bringing the secretary's wife to Europe with him at taxpayer expense. 
 
 It is true, though, that Shulkin had encountered resistance from about a half-dozen political appointees at the VA and White House who rebelled against him. In an extraordinary telephone call, John Ullyot, a top communications aide, and VA spokesman Curt Cashour asked the Republican staff director of the House Veterans Affairs Committee to push for Shulkin's removal after the release of the inspector general's report. The staff director declined to do so. Those political appointees were not involved in drafting the inspector general's report. 
 
 Shulkin expressed regret for the "distractions" caused by the report and agreed to pay more than $4,000 to cover the costs of his wife's coach airfare and the Wimbledon tickets. He continues to insist he did nothing wrong and point to what his staff did in doctoring his emails as a "mistake." 
 
 ___ 
 
 TRUMP: "THE SECOND AMENDMENT WILL NEVER BE REPEALED! As much as Democrats would like to see this happen, and despite the words yesterday of former Supreme Court Justice Stevens, NO WAY. We need more Republicans in 2018 and must ALWAYS hold the Supreme Court!" — tweet Wednesday. 
 
 THE FACTS: As a basics civics lesson, Trump's tweet falls short. The Supreme Court is the unelected branch of government and no party can "hold" it. That said, both parties try to win confirmation of justices who are considered likely to vote the way they want. 
 
 Republican-nominated justices have formed a majority of the Supreme Court for nearly 50 years. The five more conservative justices were appointed by Republicans while the four more liberal justices were Democratic nominees. 
 
 Republicans would have the opportunity to cement ideological balance in their favor if Justice Anthony Kennedy — the most moderate of the conservatives — or one of the older and more liberal justices were to retire with Trump in office and Republicans in control of the Senate. 
 
 Trump was citing retired Justice John Paul Stevens, who called in a New York Times article for repeal of the Second Amendment to allow for gun control legislation. Democratic leaders are not proposing repeal of the amendment, as Trump implies. Also noteworthy: Stevens was nominated by a Republican president, Gerald Ford. 
 
 ___ 
 
 WHITE HOUSE SPOKESWOMAN SARAH SANDERS, on the Trump administration's decision to ask people about their citizenship in the 2020 census: "This is a question that's been included in every census since 1965 with the exception of 2010, when it was removed. ... And again, this is something that has been part of the census for decades and something that the Department of Commerce felt strongly needed to be included again." — press briefing Tuesday. 
 
 COMMERCE DEPARTMENT: "Between 1820 and 1950, almost every decennial census asked a question on citizenship in some form." — statement on Monday. 
 
 THE FACTS: Sanders is incorrect. The Commerce Department statement is also problematic. Both are trying to play down the risk of a severe undercount of the population if many immigrants, intimidated by the citizenship question, refuse to participate. 
 
 The Census Bureau hasn't included a citizenship question in its once-a-decade survey sent to all U.S. households since 1950, before the Civil Rights era and passage of a 1965 law designed to help ensure minority groups in the count are fully represented. 
 
 The nation's count is based on the total resident population — both citizens and noncitizens — and used to determine how many U.S. representatives each state gets in the U.S. House. 
 
 The citizenship question was not in the 1960 census, according to a copy of the form posted on the Census Bureau website, and no census was held in 1965. 
 
 From 1970 to 2000, the question was included only in the long-form section of the census survey, sent to a portion of U.S. households. After 2000, the question has been asked on the Census Bureau's American Community Survey, a separate poll designed to replace the census long form and sent only to a sample of U.S. households. 
 
 The Commerce Department's assertion that the citizenship question was asked on "almost" every decennial census between 1820 and 1950 also pushes the limits of reality. According to the Census Bureau, the question wasn't asked in four of those censuses —1840, 1850, 1860 or 1880. 
 
 Between 1820 and 1950, a total of 14 censuses were held. That means more than 1 in 4 surveys during that time period lacked the citizenship question. 
 
 Not exactly "almost." 
 
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 Associated Press writers Mark Sherman and Cal Woodward in Washington and Elliot Spagat in San Diego contributed to this report. 
 
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 Find AP Fact Checks at http://apne.ws/2kbx8bd 
 
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– After failing to get Congress—or Mexico—to cough up enough cash for a wall along the Mexican border, President Trump has been looking into getting the Pentagon to pay for it, reasoning that it has plenty of money under the new federal budget, insiders say. The sources tell the Washington Post that Trump, worried that failure to build the promised wall will cause supporters to desert him, has been privately pushing Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, among others, to make the wall a military-funded project because of national security fears. But officials say the military is unlikely to pay for the wall, and even if the Pentagon was willing, it would require an act and the move would not get 60 votes in the Senate. In a tweet Tuesday, Trump argued that the military is "rich" and building a border wall is all about national defense because there are "enemy combatants pouring into our Country." "Build WALL through M!" he urged. Trump wants $25 billion for the wall, but the latest spending bill allocates just $1.6 billion, with restrictions on how it can be spent. "First Mexico was supposed to pay for it, then US taxpayers, and now our men and women in uniform?” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer tells the Post. "This would be a blatant misuse of military funds and tied up in court for years." CNN reports that press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders declined to comment on possible military funding Tuesday. The "continuation of building the wall is ongoing, and we're going to continue moving forward in that process," she said.