The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Shutdown is now longest in history
Trump not looking to declare a national emergency to build border wall ‘right now.’
WASHINGTON — The partial government shutdown became the longest closure in U.S. history when the clock ticked past midnight into Saturday.
The House and Senate voted to give federal workers back pay whenever the federal government reopens and then left town for the weekend.
And while President Donald Trump privately considered one escape route — declaring a national emergency to build the wall without a new stream of cash from Congress — members of his party were debating that idea, and the president urged Congress to come up with another solution.
“What we’re not looking to do right now is national emergency,” Trump said. He insisted he had the authority to do that, adding he’s “not going to do it so fast” because he’d still prefer to work a deal with Congress.
About 800,000 workers missed paychecks Friday, many receiving blank pay statements.
The administration accelerated planning for a possible emergency declaration to try to get around Congress and fund the wall from existing sources of federal revenue.
The White House explored diverting money for wall construction from a range of other accounts.
One idea being considered was diverting some of the $13.9 billion allocated to the Army Corps of Engineers after last year’s deadly hurricanes and floods.
Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who opposed to the wall and vowed to oppose any funding, said the president is seeking to divert attention from special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation and other White House problems.
“This isn’t a wall between Mexico and the United States. This is a wall between his failures of his administration,” Pelosi told reporters. “This is a big diversion, and he’s a master of diversion.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom called it an “unconscionable” idea to look at using disaster assistance “to pay for an immoral wall that America doesn’t need or want.”
Republican Rep. Kevin Brady of Texas told reporters after discussions with the White House: “I feel confident disaster relief dollars will not be tapped.” Brady said the administration was looking at the “breadth” of unspent dollars in other government accounts.