An $8 million military project in Wisconsin is losing out to help fund Trump's border wall

MADISON - Wisconsin will forgo $8 million in military spending to help pay for a wall along Mexico's border. 

President Donald Trump's administration is diverting $3.6 billion from military projects for the wall. According to a document posted online by the Washington Post, $8 million of it will come from a planned small arms range at Truax Field in Madison.

Wisconsin Democrats called the move unacceptable. 

“President Trump promised Mexico would pay for his border wall and that’s clearly not true because he is taking money from our military to pay for it," Sen. Tammy Baldwin said in a statement. 

Democratic Rep. Mark Pocan, whose district includes Truax Field, accused the president of "weakening our military preparedness and jeopardizing the strength of our armed forces."

"The president is desperately trying to steal from congressionally appropriated funds to live up to a failed campaign promise," Pocan said in a statement.

Rep. Ron Kind, a La Crosse Democrat, opposes any president shifting money from the military to the border wall because he believes Congress should make funding decisions, according to his office.

Republican Sen. Ron Johnson was not available because he is on a congressional visit to Croatia, Serbia and Ukraine. Republicans from Wisconsin's House delegation did not immediately say whether they supported taking money from the Wisconsin project. 

Trump has put an emphasis on building a border wall since he got in the presidential race. Congress has not appropriated what he's said is necessary, and he has turned to executive actions to free up money for the wall. 

Capt. Joe Trovato, a spokesman for the Wisconsin National Guard, said the funding for Truax was to be awarded in March, with construction to begin in the fall of 2020. Now, the Guard uses ranges operated by local law enforcement agencies and also has facilities available at Fort McCoy, Volk Field and Camp Douglas, Trovato said. 

"The proposed range would provide an increased training ability and more efficient training operations," Trovato said by email. "However, the 115th Fighter Wing can maintain its current readiness using the training ranges at its disposal."

Contact Patrick Marley at patrick.marley@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @patrickdmarley.