Trump to declare emergency to build border wall

Critics say tactic to divert funds an abuse of power

U.S. President Donald Trump announced Thursday that he would declare a national emergency to try to build the border wall Congress has refused to fund to his satisfaction, a highly unusual manoeuvre that prompted bipartisan accusations that he is misusing his powers.

Deciding not to force another shutdown, Trump also said he would sign into law a deal struck by congressional Republicans and Democrats to fund the U.S. government.

But he signalled his dissatisfaction with the deal, which provides much less funding for barriers on the Mexican border than he had demanded, by promising the emergency declaration.

“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 border,” press secretary Sarah Sanders said. Though presidents have broad authority to declare emergencies, they have never used that authority to try to pursue a controversial initiative Congress would not approve. Democrats and even Republican leaders had hoped Trump would not do so over his wall proposal, with Republicans warning about the precedent Trump would set for a future Democratic president.

“We have a crisis at our southern border, but no crisis justifies violating the Constitution,” Republican Sen. Marco Rubio said in a statement. “Today’s national emergency is border security. But a future president may use this exact same tactic to impose the Green New Deal,” a sweeping climate initiative.

The Senate swiftly passed the legislation on an 83-16 vote, and the House followed suit hours later, approving the bill 300-128 — veto-proof margins in both chambers.

The Washington Post reported that Trump is expected to sign the budget deal and declare the national emergency in an appearance Friday morning, citing an senior White House official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

It was not immediately clear how Trump planned to use the emergency powers. It was likely, though, that he would attempt to use an emergency to seize funding for the wall that Congress had appropriated for other things, such as the military or disaster relief.

Democrats and others have argued that there is no actual emergency on the border. Apprehensions of people crossing from Mexico are less than a third what they were two decades ago. And Trump engaged in two months of negotiations before announcing he would declare an emergency, showing a lack of urgency Democrats say is more evidence there is not a true crisis.

An emergency declaration might well be challenged in court.

Asked Thursday if she would file suit, Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, “I may.” She said she would “review our options.”

“It is yet another demonstration of @realDonaldTrump’s naked contempt for the rule of law. This is not an emergency, and the president’s fearmongering doesn’t make it one,” Pelosi said on Twitter. Trump campaigned on an implausible promise that Mexico would pay for the wall. Mexico has flatly refused. Pelosi said Trump “couldn’t convince Mexico, the American people or their elected representatives to pay for his ineffective and expensive wall, so now he’s trying an end-run around Congress in a desperate attempt to put taxpayers on the hook for it.”

Trump’s decision to move forward with a declaration is a tacit acknowledgement that his hardball negotiating tactics have failed.

Trump had initiated an unpopular 35-day government shutdown to try to compel Democrats to pony up more than $5.6 billion in funding for 375 kilometres of wall, then caved to sign temporary measure to fund the government while the two sides engaged in more negotiations.

The final deal includes less than $1.5 billion for 88 kilometres of border barriers that are not based on the wall prototypes developed under Trump.

Polls have consistently suggested that the idea of an emergency over the wall is highly unpopular. Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who tried to convince Trump not to do it, ended up being the person to announce Thursday that Trump was indeed doing it, and he said on the Senate floor that he would now support it.

Trump has been focused on his political base above all others. The decision to declare an emergency would allow him to continue making the case that he is fighting as hard as possible against illegal immigration.