House Speaker Ryan Says Congress Will Pay Billions For Wall

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WASHINGTON (AP) - House Speaker Paul Ryan says President Donald Trump's border wall will cost $12 billion to $15 billion -- and Ryan says Congress will pay for it by this fall.

The Wisconsin Republican made his comments to reporters in Philadelphia, where GOP lawmakers are holding their annual strategy retreat.

Ryan was pressed on whether the wall's price tag would be added to the deficit -- or whether Congress would find some ways to offset the cost. But he wouldn't commit.

The point, Ryan says, is that Congress will pay for "the construction of a physical barrier on the border."

A short time later, Border Patrol agents were told that Border Patrol chief Mark Morgan is no longer on the job. It's not immediately clear whether Morgan resigned or was asked to leave.

Trump is set to speak to the lawmakers later Thursday -- a day after signing an executive order calling for the wall.