Administration

Trump administration plans livestreaming border wall construction: report

Senior White House officials including Jared Kushner intend to set up cameras to livestream construction of President Trump’s border wall, despite pushback from Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, The Washington Post reported. 

“There will be a wall cam, and it’ll launch early next year,” an unidentified senior White House official involved with the project told the Post. 

{mosads}The initiative reportedly aims to increase support for construction of the wall. 

But the CBP and the Army Corps of Engineers have objected, saying that construction companies don’t want other firms to see what they are doing, four sources told the newspaper. Officials are also reportedly concerned that U.S. crews would be seen on camera violating Mexico’s sovereignty because they sometimes cross the border to move their equipment. 

If the cameras are placed in certain areas without Wi-Fi, they will also need their own connectivity, as well as people to help keep the lenses pointed toward the construction, the Post noted. 

According to the newspaper, Kushner sees the livestream as a way to show that progress is being made on the wall’s construction. Trump and others have also reportedly expressed a desire for photos and videos that the president can post to Twitter. 

“It’s understood that Kushner is so aggressive because the president has been asking him about it all the time,” a senior White House official told the paper. 
 
The Post reported that it is not clear how much the effort will cost. One source told the newspaper that the money could come from CBP’s planning and mapping funds. 
 
The Hill has reached out to the White House, CBP and the Army Corps of Engineers for comment. 
 
The wall was one of Trump’s signature campaign issues in 2016. It has cost billions in taxpayer dollars.