Trump says US paying for wall, Mexico will ‘pay later’

US President-elect Donald Trump said that Mexico would pay for his planned border wall “later” after Republican officials indicated that Congress and US taxpayers would originally foot the bill.

Trump was responding to reports that cited Republican officials as saying that Congress might make funds available for the wall, which was a central pledge in his election campaign.

“The dishonest media does not report that any money spent on building the Great Wall (for the sake of speed), will be paid back by Mexico later!” he tweeted.

The dishonest media does not report that any money spent on building the Great Wall (for sake of speed), will be paid back by Mexico later!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 6, 2017

Trump’s spokesperson Sean Spicer insisted on Friday morning that the plan to pay for the wall’s construction and seek reimbursement from Mexico later “doesn’t mean he’s broken his promise”.

“I think he’s going to continue to talk to [the Mexican government] about that,” he told ABC News.

Congressional Republicans have confirmed that they have the legal authorisation to build the wall under the Secure Fence Act was passed by former president George W Bush in 2006.

However to ensure they have enough funding, they might seek to add billions of dollars to the government’s expenditure bill – which needs to pass by 28 April to keep the federal government open. Democrats may oppose that spending, which would risk a government shutdown.

Mexico’s president Enrique Pena Nieto and senior officials have said that they will not pay for the wall, despite Trump’s campaign pledge. However, Republican Congressman Chris Collins said he has no doubt that Mexico will end up paying for it.

“When you understand that Mexico’s economy is dependent upon US consumers, Donald Trump has all the cards he needs to play,” he said on CNN. “On the trade negotiation side, I don’t think it’s that difficult for Donald Trump to convince Mexico that it’s in their best interest to reimburse us for building the wall.”