Trump’s pick for AG once questioned value of border wall

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general, William Barr, once questioned the value of a wall along the Mexican border similar to the one Trump has advocated.

Barr was attorney general under President George H.W. Bush when he was asked in a 1992 interview whether he supported a proposal from Republican presidential challenger Pat Buchanan to erect a barrier of ditches and fences along the border.

He said it was “overkill to put a barrier from one side of the border to the other” and that the problem “is really confined to major metropolitan areas.”

Those routes through more populated areas have since been closed off.

Other statements from Barr reflect an approach to immigration more consistent with Trump and his advisers.