House Armed Services chairman denies $1 billion transfer for Trump wall

FILE PHOTO: A U.S. Border Patrol Agent and a reporter stand next to the U.S.-Mexico border fence in El Paso, Texas, U.S., March 6, 2019. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives Armed Services Committee on Tuesday denied the Pentagon's plan to shift $1 billion to build a wall on the U.S. border with Mexico, a move that while largely symbolic, highlights the concern lawmakers have about using the defence budget to pay for the wall.

Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan announced on Monday that the Department of Defense had shifted $1 billion from other military construction projects to build part of the barrier along the southern border.