On Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell first said Trump is “prepared to sign the bill” but would simultaneously declare a national emergency. The Kentucky Republican “indicated to [Trump] that [he is] going to support the national emergency declaration.”
His comments came amid confusion among Senate Republicans about how the party would move forward with the spending bill Thursday. McConnell broke into remarks from Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, to make the announcement. Grassley angrily retorted, “I hope the next time I get a chance to have the floor, I won’t be interrupted.”
Grassley is one of several Republicans who warned Trump against declaring a national emergency. Democratic leaders have also slammed the potential move as an executive overreach. They have also questioned whether it is necessary to address the flow of migrants at the southern border.
“I think declaring a national emergency where this is no national emergency is not good for the president to do and is not good as a precedent,” House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., told MSNBC shortly after McConnell spoke.
The spending plan Congress aims to pass would put about $1.4 billion toward physical border barriers — short of the $5.7 billion Trump wants. It would specifically not allow construction of new wall prototypes proposed by Trump, putting money toward 55 miles of bollard fencing. The president has claimed the wall will still get built, even as Congress dealt him his latest defeat on a project he repeatedly promised to complete.
Republicans and Democrats showed concerns about the spending plan, but congressional leaders from both major parties backed it. The GOP appeared to wait for Trump’s support Thursday before voting, as the president waffled on whether to support the agreement Thursday.
Senate Republicans looked eager to avoid the second partial government shutdown since December. Without a new spending plan, nine U.S. departments will run out of money at 12:01 a.m. ET Saturday.
Funding for about a quarter of the government lapsed for 35 days during December and January. About 800,000 federal employees, furloughed or working without pay, missed two paychecks during the closure. Another shutdown threatened more financial hardship for those workers.
Trump’s demand for wall money, and Democrats’ refusal to yield to him, led to the earlier shutdown. In December, Trump said he would “take the mantle” for the closure. Most Americans eventually did blame him for it, according to polls.
Despite Congress’ latest blow to his border wall plans, Trump has insisted he will build the wall regardless. He argues he has the authority to allocate funds from other parts of the government to construct it.
“The bottom line is on the wall we’re building the wall and we’re using other methods other than this and in addition to this,” Trump said during a Cabinet meeting Tuesday.
The notion of an emergency split Republicans. While McConnell supported it Thursday, Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, Grassley and Marco Rubio, R-Fla., all criticized it in recent weeks.
Earlier this month, Cornyn called it a “dangerous step.” Last month, Rubio also questioned whether the emergency declaration would hold up in court. He also said it is “not a good precedent.”
Asked Thursday whether the White House is concerned about the precedent the emergency declaration sets, Sanders responded: “Let’s hope we don’t have additional national security and humanitarian crises.”
The White House has identified $2.7 billion it could potentially redirect, according to Reuters. While it is unclear where the money would come from, Trump has previously suggested he could take it from the military.
from Update News Zone http://bit.ly/2Igf8IZ
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