Trump pushes border wall fight ahead of State of the Union speech
US - President Donald Trump was yesterday set to deliver a State of the Union speech challenging Democrats to approve funding for his long-sought border wall, but stopping short of declaring a national emergency over it, at least for now. At 9 p.m. EST (0200 GMT Wednesday) before a joint session of Congress, Trump likely will stir contention with remarks on immigration policy, after his demand for USD 5.7 billion in wall funds triggered a historic 35-day partial government shutdown that more than half of Americans blamed him for, according to Reuters/Ipsos polling.
Millions of Americans were expected to watch the address on television, giving the Republican president his biggest opportunity to date to explain why he believes a barrier is needed on the US southern border with Mexico. The speech was delayed for a week because of the shutdown, which ended on January 25. When Trump takes center stage in the chamber of the House of Representatives for the big speech, sitting behind him over his shoulder will be his main congressional adversary, Democrat Nancy Pelosi, who became House speaker after her party won control of the chamber in November’s elections.
She has shown no sign of budging from her opposition to Trump’s wall-funding demand. That has led Trump to contemplate declaring a national emergency, which he says would let him reallocate funding from elsewhere without congressional action. A source close to Trump said the president was not expected to take that step, which likely would draw a swift court challenge from Democrats. Instead he will urge a congressional committee to work out a border security deal by February 15. “He’s going to set the stage”, the source said. “He’ll tell people, ‘Here’s why I should’ but say, ‘I’m giving Congress another chance to act.’” Trump continued to push his wall in a Tuesday morning tweet ahead of his evening remarks, noting that the Pentagon has sent more troops to the US southern border. “We will build a Human Wall if necessary”, he said.
Asked on yesterday if Trump would use the speech to announce an emergency, White House senior adviser Kellyanne Conway said the president ‘has an absolute right to do it’ but would prefer that lawmakers forge a solution. “He wants Congress to finish its work and hopefully come to an agreement, put a deal on his desk that he will sign into law”, Conway told reporters at the White House.
Trump’s speech also will offer an olive branch to opponents as he looks toward the 2020 election, targeting areas he sees for potential bipartisan agreement, such as infrastructure improvements, lowering prescription drug costs and healthcare. (Reuters)