Border wall to go up

Trump declares national emergency to end gridlock on funds

US President Donald Trump will declare his border wall a national emergency in a bid to end gridlock over funding his signature election promise.

Mr Trump’s move will likely trigger a series of legal challenges that will test presidential authority, with Democrat leaders describing it as “a lawless act”.

While emergency declarations are not uncommon, they are rarely used to cover funding over which Congress can’t agree – as is the case here.

If the declaration survives mooted legal challenges, Mr Trump will be able to tap America’s vast defence budget for border security without seeking approval from Congress.

Confirmation of Mr Trump’s dramatic move came in a White House statement that he had also agreed to sign the watered-down funding Bill that sparked the historically long New Year, 35-day government shutdown.

“President Trump will sign the government funding Bill, and as he has stated before, he will also take other executive action – including a national emergency – to ensure we stop the national security and humanitarian crisis at the bor- der,” White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement.

“The president is once again delivering on his promise to build the wall, protect the border, and secure our great country.”

The spending Bill, which needed to be passed before Friday (US time) to avoid another shutdown, gave only a fraction of the $8 billion for a 320km wall that Mr Trump was chasing and was less than he had rejected in earlier negotiations.

Under the agreement, $2 billion would be used for 90km of new barriers and fencing.

Indications this week that Mr Trump was considering signing the Bill had drawn harsh criticism from his base for what they feared was capitulation over his promise of a border wall.