Trump to declare emergency to garner border wall funds
DEMAND FOR $5.7BN VETOED Desperate step will allow US president to access various govt funds
WASHINGTON: US Congress lopsidedly approved a border security compromise that would avert a second painful partial government shutdown.
But a new confrontation has been ignited - this time over President Donald Trump’s plan to bypass lawmakers and declare a national emergency to siphon billions from other federal coffers for his wall on the Us-mexico boundary.
Money in the bill for border barriers, about $1.4 billion, is far below the $5.7 billion that Trump had insisted he needed and would finance just a quarter of the 200plus miles he wanted.
The White House said he’d sign the legislation but act unilaterally to get more, prompting condemnations from Democrats and threats of lawsuits from states and others who might lose federal money or said Trump was abusing his authority.
The uproar over Trump’s next move cast an uncertain shadow over what had been a rare display of bipartisanship to address the grinding battle between the White House and lawmakers over border security.
The Senate passed the legislation 83-16 on Thursday, with both parties solidly aboard. The House followed with a 300-128 tally, with Trump’s signature planned on Friday. Trump is expected to speak on Friday morning about border security, the White House said.
T r u mp is expected to announce that he will be spending roughly $8 billion on border barriers - combining the money approved by Congress with funding he plans to re-purpose through executive actions, including a national emergency, said a White House official who was not authorised to speak publicly.
The money is expected to come from funds targeted for military construction and counter-drug efforts.
House Democrats overwhelmingly backed the legislation, with only 19 - most of whom were Hispanic - opposed. Just over half of Republicans voted ‘no’.
Should Trump change his mind, both chambers’ margins were above the two-thirds majorities needed to override presidential vetoes. Lawmakers, however, rally behind presidents of the same party in such battles.
JUDGE RULES AGAINST BUTTERFLY SANCTUARY
A US judge ruled on Thursday against a butterfly sanctuary that had sued to keep Trump’s proposed border wall from cutting the refuge in two.
For months, the National Butterfly Center has been arguing that the wall would be devastating for those insects and other creatures living in this habitat in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas.
As many as 200 species of butterfly live in the sanctuary.
Financing for a wall going through the sanctuary was approved last year and is separate from the border appropriation fight that is currently roiling Washington. Construction could begin in a matter of weeks, local people said.
The North American Butterfly Association, which runs the refuge, sued the government on grounds that the sanctuary is private property. But federal judge Richard Leon ruled that the project can proceed.