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Trump Wants to Give Border Wall Deal to Fox News Guest’s Firm

President reportedly “repeatedly urged” the Army Corps of Engineers to award the contract to construction firm run by GOP donor.

President Trump has been pushing for a border wall deal to be granted to the firm of a frequent Fox News guest and GOP donor, according to four administration officials speaking anonymously to The Washington Post. The president has reportedly brought up Fisher Industries, based in North Dakota, to Department of Homeland Security officials and the commanding general of the Army Corps in meetings about the border wall, most recently in the Oval Office on Thursday. Fisher Industries is run by CEO Tommy Fisher, a GOP donor who has been a frequent voice on conservative television and radio shows, where he claims he can build a border wall quickly and cheaply. (He has promised to erect more than 200 miles of barrier on the southern border in less than a year.)

But “the push for a specific company has alarmed military commanders and DHS officials,” the Post reports, noting that the president’s personal interest in the firm “risks the perception of improper influence on decades-old procurement rules that require government agencies to seek competitive bids, free of political interference.” Meanwhile, Fisher Industries is suing the U.S. government over the Army Corps’ previous rejection of its bid to install barriers along the border.