Nancy Pelosi quickly shot down a proposal by President Trump to put a down payment for his border wall, blasting it as unreasonable. It’s unclear exactly how much money the White House was seeking, but Pelosi is still refusing to budge. And now, the Trump administration may move forward with declaring a national emergency and securing funding that way.
Apparently, the Trump administration has found roughly $7 billion that could be reallocated toward the border wall project. This actually supersedes the $5.6 billion Trump asked for previously. The funding would come from multiple sources, including $681 million from the Treasury Department, $3 billion from the Pentagon civil works fund, and $3.6 billion set aside for military construction.
Reportedly, Trump’s advisers are divided on declaring a national emergency at the southern border. However, it’s becoming increasingly likely that the Trump administration will need to bypass Congress if the wall is to be built. President Trump has dug in on the issue and has refused to budge. The same could be said of Pelosi, who has demanded that the government be re-opened before even considering funding.
CNN received a draft copy of the memo, which read: “The massive amount of aliens who unlawfully enter the United States each day is a direct threat to the safety and security of our nation and constitutes a national emergency. Now, therefore, I, Donald J. Trump, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C 1601, et seq.), hereby declare that a national emergency exists at the southern border of the United States.”
With Republican support starting to fray, Trump may have no choice but to take the national emergency route. Some Republican politicians openly called for the president to reopen the government and to even scrap the border wall. Even among his supporters, tensions are tightening.
Various industry groups are warning that the continued shutdown could create risks. The aviation industry, in particular, is struggling as TSA officers are calling in sick or having to take time off.
