Mitch McConnell says he doesn't think Mexico will pay for the border wall

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Thursday that he doesn't think Mexico will pay for the wall the Trump administration wants to build along the southern border of the US.

When asked during an interview with Politico whether he thinks Mexico will pay, as President Donald Trump has promised, he replied, "Uh, no."

McConnell also declined to say whether he thinks the wall will be built in this calendar year.

"I'm in favor of border security," he said. "There are some places along the border where that's probably not the best way to secure the border, but I think [Homeland Security Secretary] Gen. [John] Kelly knows what he's doing. I think the president picked an outstanding person to be in charge of homeland security and my suspicion is that we will take his advice."

An internal Department of Homeland Security report said the wall would take more than three years to build and cost $21.6 billion, Reuters reported last month. McConnell had said previously that the estimated cost of the wall was between $12 billion and $15 billion.

Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto has said that Mexico would not pay for the wall.