Adrees Latif/Reuters
The U.S. military will not be sending home troops stationed at the U.S.-Mexico border any time soon, and apparently will instead redistribute them to more active locations, Politico reports. The move directly conflicts with statements made this week by the general overseeing the deployment. Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Buchanan told Politico on Monday that the first wave of troops would be headed home this week. “By Christmas, it should be all,” he said. “Our end date right now is 15 December, and I’ve got no indications from anybody that we’ll go beyond that.” However, on Tuesday, the Pentagon backtracked on Buchanan’s statement. “No specific timeline for redeployment has been determined,” a spokesman for the Army component of U.S. Northern Command said in an email to Politico. The conflicting comments on the status of some 5,800 troops come amid increased scrutiny of President Trump’s decision to send the U.S. military to the border immediately before the midterm elections. According to the military spokesperson, troops will now be shifted from Texas to California as the “caravan” of migrants moves westward.