On Sunday, December 16, Air Force Veteran and Purple Heart recipient Brian Kolfage created a GoFundMe account, “We The People Will Fund the Wall,” with a goal of $1 billion to help President Donald J. Trump fulfill his promised border wall ahead of Friday’s spending bill deadline.

Triple-amputee veteran Kofalge pleaded with the American public to support Trump’s agenda, stating:

“If the 63 million people who voted for Trump each pledge $80, we can build the wall,” Kolfage wrote on the fundraiser page. “That equates to roughly $5 billion. Even if we get half, that’s half the wall. We can do this.”

Meanwhile on Capitol Hill, as of Friday morning, the House had passed $5.7 billion for border security. As of now, it’s to be voted for approval in the Senate before Friday’s midnight deadline but appears that it will have a gloomy outcome. Americans and conservative Freedom Caucus members are urging the Senate to prioritize border security.

During the week, Trump has swayed his stance on being “proud” to shut down the government if the Senate fails to provide border wall funding. However, White House Spokesperson Sarah Huckabee Sanders has confirmed the president is looking into alternatives in funding, sparing the government from a shutdown that would impact 800,000 federal workers.

Kolfage’s online fundraiser has raised over $13 million by over 220,000 people since Sunday. He has promised his donors that 100 percent of donations will be used for construction and has already made contact with the Trump administration to secure the transfer of funds.

Kolfage, who lost three limbs during his tour in Iraq in 2004, states on his page that people voted for Trump to “Make America Great Again” because he campaigned on the promise to “Build the Wall.” He urges all Americans to follow through with their commitment to the president and said, “As a veteran who has given so much, three limbs, I feel deeply invested to this nation to ensure future generations have everything we have today.”

Hopefully the Senate will take this fundraiser into consideration, as well as U.S. Border Patrol’s request for assistance in securing the border, when they pass their version of the spending bill this evening.

Miriam Cepeda

Miriam Cepeda is the Rio Grande Valley Bureau Chief for Texas Scorecard. A second-generation Mexican American, she is both fluent in English and Spanish and has been influential in grassroots organizing and conservative engagement within Hispanic communities. If you don’t find her “Trumping”, you can find her saving animals, running her dog, hiking the Andes, or volunteering with the U.S. National Park Service.

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