President Donald Trump's
Senate GOP allies are pushing to give him his full $5 billion request to build about 200 miles (322 kilometers) of fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border, but the plan ran into immediate opposition from
Democrats and is a non-starter with powerful House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
The wall money is contained in a $71 billion draft funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security that cleared its first, easiest hurdle in a Senate panel on Tuesday.
Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Chair Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., announced the $5 billion figure.