President Trump said Friday there is a “good chance” he will declare a national emergency to build a wall along the southern border.
“I think there’s a good chance we’ll have to do that,” Trump said of an emergency declaration. He spoke during an event at the White House on human trafficking at the southern border.
The president first raised the possibility of declaring a national emergency to divert funds to build the wall during the five-week government shutdown, as Trump and congressional Democrats remained at an impasse over wall funding.
While Trump initially seemed to be on the verge of issuing the emergency declaration, he then said he wanted Congress to reach an agreement on money for the wall instead.
The president last week signed legislation, which did not include funding for a barrier, that ended the five-week government shutdown and reopened affected agencies until Feb. 15. House and Senate negotiators have until then to reach an immigration deal before funding lapses again.
If they fail to reach a compromise, the president threatened to declare a national emergency, which would allow him to divert funds to build the wall and bypass Congress.
The president indicated he has little optimism that congressional negotiations over a border wall will bear fruit.
“We will be looking at a national emergency because I don’t like anything’s going to happen. I think the Democrats don’t want border security,” he said. “When I hear them talking about the fact that walls are immoral and walls don’t work, they know they work.”
If Trump were to declare a national emergency to circumvent Congress and build a wall, it would face an immediate court challenge. The president said he is not concerned about legal action, but he contended a lawsuit would likely wind up before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the country’s most liberal appeals court.
“We have a very, very strong legal standing,” Trump said. “It would be very hard to do that.”
The president also suggested Americans would hear more about an emergency declaration Tuesday, when he delivers his State of the Union address.
“Listen closely to the State of the Union,” he told reporters.
