Back from the failed-campaign graveyard, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) on Friday offered three words to President Trump regarding his border wall plan:
Bush, who was vanquished by Trump in the Republican primary last year, retweeted a Wall Street Journal op-ed that outlines just how much federal land the government would need to assume to complete the president's proposed construction. The hypothetical wall would span 2,000 miles, the majority of which is private property. For the government to obtain the land, it would need to invoke the eminent domain rule under the Fifth Amendment, which allows the government to simply offer owners money for the right to scoop up their land for public use.
Because eminent domain guarantees just compensation — an initial offer by the government equal to market value — the price tag for the border wall could be way, way higher than the initial estimate of roughly $15 billion. As noted throughout Trump's campaign, the wall is a top priority for his administration.
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This isn't the first high-profile tweet to hit the Trump administration in its first 100 days over social media. Hillary Clinton, Trump's Democratic rival, attempted to gloat over the unanimous decision by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to block Trump's immigration order — only to be burned by White House counselor Kellyanne Conway.
