This is the border wall Democrats funded for President Trump, who is applauding this flimsy “fence.” Major letdown

Thomas MadisonMay 2, 2017

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A U.S. Border Patrol vehicle drives by the 18-foot (five-metre) high rusty steel barrier along the U.S.-Mexico border at sunset in Brownsville, Texas September 2, 2014. The "Patriots" are a heavily armed group who patrol the U.S. border with Mexico, trying to deter immigrants from crossing the border illegally. The group, who portray themselves as defending the American way, use a strong display of force to intimidate anyone from making the crossing from Mexico into Texas. To critics, they are vigilantes spoiling for a fight. To the immigrants, they are another barrier to entry and to the U.S. Border Patrol, groups like this can either be a nuisance interfering with their operations or an aide in spotting migrants illegally trying to enter the country. Picture taken September 2, 2014. REUTERS/Rick Wilking (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS SOCIETY IMMIGRATION CRIME LAW TRANSPORT) ATTENTION EDITORS: PICTURE 20 OF 20 FOR WIDER IMAGE PACKAGE 'DEFENDING THE AMERICAN WAY'. TO FIND ALL IMAGES SEARCH 'BROWNSVILLE WILKING' - RTR45NFY

THIS (photo, above) is the existing border wall near Brownsville, Texas. A coyote with a torch can cut through one of the vertical supports in probably five minutes, allowing his clients to stroll right through to the promised land.

President Trump didn’t get funding for a brick-and-mortar border wall in the spending deal with Democrats — but he got money to build a 20-foot high steel wall, the White House budget chief said Tuesday, according to The Washington Times.

“That’s what we got in this deal and that’s what Democrats don’t want you to know,” Mick Mulvaney, director of the president’s budget office, said at the daily White House press briefing.

“There’s several hundred of millions of dollars for us to replace cyclone fencing with 20-foot high steel wall,” he said, pointing to a photograph of an existing stretch of the towering steel barrier along the southern border.

“We are building this now,” he said.

The administration has been aggressively pushing back against Capitol Hill Democrats’ claim of besting Mr. Trump in the spending negotiations, and blocking funds to build a border wall tops their list of victories.

Mr. Mulvaney said Democrats glossed over the gains in the deal for Mr. Trump’s priority of cracking down on illegal immigration.

The $1.5 billion increase in Homeland Security spending, pushing total spending for the department to more than $42 billion.

“That’s where this negotiation has taken us — to the largest increase in border security in 10 years,” he said.

The structure referenced by Mr. Mulvaney, which consists of rows of steel pylons capped with a concrete band, is the “fence” that been erected along the border in some place.