President Donald Trump will go to Texas at the end of January for a ground breaking ceremony to construction a section of his border wall as he vowed that part will be completed by Election Day in 2020.
Trump made the announcement over Christmas. Meanwhile, the government shutdown entered day six on Thursday as he and Democrats battle it out over funding for his $5 billion wall.
The president also announced the government has awarded a contract to build a 115 mile section of the wall. No further details were given - including the bidding process, the amount and the contractor who won the award.
Trump spent his Christmas at the White House and doubled down hard on his border wall.
He waxed on about a stretch of the wall between the Mexico and Texas in a conversation with reporters in the Oval Office on Monday.
'That's a big stretch, because we're talking about 500 to 550 miles. It's a 2,000-mile border but much of it has mountain and region where you can't get across,' Trump said. 'So we're getting it between 500 and 550 (miles). And we gave out 115 yesterday, and we gave it out (the contracts) at a great price. So we're going to have great wall there and we have other sections to give out.'
He added: 'I'm going there at the end of January for the start of construction.'
The president noted there is some border wall built already and that parts of the barrier merely need to be renovated while other portions will have to be built from scratch.
There is 653 miles of border fence along the nearly 2,000 mile U.S.-Mexico border in place, built under the Secure Fence Act passed in 2006.
'The new piece – the new section - is very very exciting. And you'll see what's going on there. Because in January I'm going there. We're almost having a ground breaking because it's such a big section,' Trump said.
He noted his goal for that 500 mile section 'to have it renovated or brand new by election time.'
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Presumably he meant the next general election, which will be in November 2020 when he is on the ballot for a second term.
The president also announced a new contract had been awarded to build a portion of the Texas border wall.
'I am in the Oval Office & just gave out a 115 mile long contract for another large section of the Wall in Texas. We are already building and renovating many miles of Wall, some complete. Democrats must end Shutdown and finish funding. Billions of Dollars, & lives, will be saved!,' he tweeted on Monday.
He told reporters he had signed a contract to build a large portion at a 'great price,' but he declined to give additional details.
And he did not offer specifics when asked who was rewarded the government contract.
'Different people, different people,' he responded. 'Highly bid.'
It's unclear if this is a new contract or if the president is referring to an already existing one.
In March, Congress approved funding to construct a 33-mile wall in South Texas' Rio Grande Valley.
In early November, Customs and Border Protection awarded $145 million to build about six miles of border wall in Texas. The agency also awarded a second contract for $167 million to build 8 miles of the wall.
Galveston, Texas-based construction firm SLSCO won both contracts.
Additionally, the government awarded contracts earlier this year to build sections of the wall in Arizona and California.
Montana-based Barnard Construction won the $324 million contract to build in Arizona with work expected to begin in April.
But SLSCO also won the $287 million to build a section of the wall in California with work scheduled to begin in July.
Construction on the Texas portions of the wall is expected to begin in February.
The timing of the Texas trip suggests Trump could be referring to that contract.
Trump also promised his wall would be so strongly built only an Olympic champion could get over it.
'Now there may be the case of an Olympic champion who can get over the wall but for the most part you are not able to do it. Very high. It's gonna be 30 feet. Much of it is 30 feet high. Some if it's low. But in some areas we have it as high as 30 feet. That's like a three-story building,' he said.
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