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Trump, Heading to the Border, Suggests He Will Declare an Emergency to Fund the Wall Trump, Along the Border in Texas, Reiterates Demand for Wall
(about 1 hour later)
MCALLEN, Tex. — President Trump arrived in this border town Thursday on a trip that he did not want to take to discuss a crisis that Democrats say does not exist. McALLEN, Tex. — President Trump arrived in this border town Thursday on a trip that he did not want to take to discuss a crisis that Democrats say does not exist, repeating his request for a long-promised border wall that has led to a bitter political impasse and a 20-day government shutdown.
Their disagreement has led to a protracted shutdown affecting vast swaths of the federal government that have nothing to do with the construction of a wall between the United States and Mexico. Flanked by Border Patrol officers, as well as Kirstjen Nielsen, the secretary of homeland security, and a cache of drugs, cash and weapons seized by the authorities at the border, Mr. Trump again blamed the protracted shutdown affecting vast swaths of the federal government on Democrats. He reiterated an untrue claim that Mexico would indirectly pay for the wall through a revamped trade agreement, and heard from people who had loved ones killed by immigrants.
But as the government shutdown neared the end of its third week, the president left Washington with no additional negotiations scheduled with congressional leaders. In remarks to reporters on Thursday, Mr. Trump left open the possibility of declaring a state of emergency, which could allow him to bypass Congress to fund the wall. “If we had a barrier of any kind, whether it’s steel or concrete,” Mr. Trump said of tragic stories involving violence and human trafficking, “they wouldn’t even bother trying. We could stop that cold.”
But as the government shutdown neared the end of its third week, the president left Washington with no additional negotiations scheduled with congressional leaders over a possible compromise that could both provide border security and open the government. In remarks to reporters on Thursday, Mr. Trump did not rule out declaring a state of national emergency that could allow him to bypass Congress to fund the wall.
Asked if he would make such a declaration, an action that would likely face legal challenges, Mr. Trump said: “If this doesn’t work out, probably I will do it. I would almost say definitely.”Asked if he would make such a declaration, an action that would likely face legal challenges, Mr. Trump said: “If this doesn’t work out, probably I will do it. I would almost say definitely.”
The president held a brief and contentious negotiation with Democrats and Republican leaders on Wednesday in the Situation Room that ended abruptly when he stormed out of the room after Speaker Nancy Pelosi rebuffed his overture to reopen the government in exchange for wall funding. Ms. Pelosi and Democrats have consistently said that they would be willing to negotiate border security issues with him if he would reopen the government, even as Ms. Pelosi has held firm to the position that she does not support funding for a barrier wall. In the meeting with Border Patrol officials, Mr. Trump did not emphasize the need for an emergency, but invited locals to help him make his case.
Before his departure, Mr. Trump denied Democrats’ reports that he slammed his hand on the table and had what Senator Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader, called “a temper tantrum.” A local pastor declared the problem a “humanitarian crisis.” Border Patrol officers used visual aids showing stash houses, road checkpoints and drug caches to emphasize the demand for border security and a wall. And at one point, Senator Ted Cruz, the Texas Republican who waged a brutal political battle with the president as an opponent during the 2016 primaries, praised Mr. Trump for “infusing more backbone” in the capital.
“I didn’t smash the table. I should have,” Mr. Trump said later Thursday morning. “When we see politicians go on TV and say the border’s secure and there is no crisis,” Mr. Cruz said, “they are ignoring reality.”
Mr. Trump also addressed his longtime promise that Mexico would pay for the border wall. Mr. Trump repeated his demand for the money from Congress while telling the group that Mexico would somehow provide funds indirectly for the wall, a contradiction of what he said in December when he wrote in a Twitter post, “I often stated, ‘One way or the other, Mexico is going to pay for the Wall.’”
“When during the campaign I would say, ‘Mexico is going to pay for it,’ obviously, I never said this, and I never meant they are going to write out a check,” Mr. Trump said. That statement was an apparent contradiction of what he has previously said, including in December when he wrote in a Twitter post, “I often stated, ‘One way or the other, Mexico is going to pay for the Wall.’” “I didn’t say they’re going to write me a check for $10 billion or $20 billion,” Mr. Trump said on Thursday. “If Congress approves this trade bill, they’ll pay for the wall many times over. When I say Mexico’s going to pay for the wall, that’s what I mean.”
On Thursday, Mr. Trump repeated his assertion that Mexico would foot the bill through a renegotiated trade deal, even though the deal, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, does not specify that Mexico would pay for the wall or divert funds to do so. The agreement has yet to be approved by Congress. The new trade deal, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, does not stipulate that Mexico provide funds for the wall, and has not been approved by Congress.
In a meeting with network anchors on Tuesday ahead of his address to the nation, the president dismissed his trip to McAllen, a border community where crime is near a 30-year low, as a “photo op” that he was doing because his top communications advisers counseled him to. Back in Washington, the president’s ability to procure funds from other sources has not been successful.
Mr. Trump held a brief and contentious negotiation with Democrats and Republican leaders on Wednesday in the Situation Room that ended abruptly when he stormed out of the room after Speaker Nancy Pelosi rebuffed his overture to reopen the government in exchange for wall funding. Ms. Pelosi and Democrats have consistently said they would be willing to negotiate border security issues with him if he would reopen the government, even as Ms. Pelosi has held firm to the position that she does not support funding for a wall.
Before his departure, Mr. Trump denied Democrats’ reports that he slammed his hand on the table and had what Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader, called “a temper tantrum.”
“I didn’t smash the table,” Mr. Trump said later Thursday morning. “I should have.”
In a meeting with network anchors this week before his address to the nation, the president dismissed his trip to McAllen, a border community where crime is near a 30-year low, as a “photo op” that he was doing because his top communications advisers counseled him to.
In Texas, he listened to tearful stories from people who described violent deaths of siblings and sons, including one woman whose son, a Border Patrol agent, had been killed by an unauthorized immigrant.
“Thank you,” Mr. Trump said as he walked over to hug her. “I’m very proud of you right now.”
[A shut down government actually costs more than an open one.][A shut down government actually costs more than an open one.]
In Texas, a crowd of supporters with flags and “build the wall” signs gathered near the Rio Grande before Air Force One landed on Thursday. While in Texas, Mr. Trump is expected to meet with Border Patrol officials who are being forced to work without pay because of the funding impasse. Before Air Force One landed in Texas on Thursday, a crowd of supporters with flags and “build the wall” signs gathered near the Rio Grande.
The president maintains he has the option of declaring a national emergency to fund construction for the wall, perhaps the central promise that he made to his political base during his campaign, and bypassing a legislative solution. The head of the Army Corps of Engineers traveled with Mr. Trump to Texas on Thursday. Redirecting funds from the Army’s construction agency to build the wall is one option Mr. Trump could use in a national emergency.The president maintains he has the option of declaring a national emergency to fund construction for the wall, perhaps the central promise that he made to his political base during his campaign, and bypassing a legislative solution. The head of the Army Corps of Engineers traveled with Mr. Trump to Texas on Thursday. Redirecting funds from the Army’s construction agency to build the wall is one option Mr. Trump could use in a national emergency.
Mr. Trump said he has the legal authority to make the declaration. “This is a thing that the lawyers tell me is 100 percent,” Mr. Trump said. Mr. Trump said he had the legal authority to make the declaration. “This is a thing that the lawyers tell me is 100 percent,” Mr. Trump said.
If the president were to declare a national emergency, which some legal experts say is within his authority, it is sure to stoke debate in Congress.If the president were to declare a national emergency, which some legal experts say is within his authority, it is sure to stoke debate in Congress.
To bolster his campaign for the wall, the president has also scheduled an interview with the Fox host Sean Hannity, who will broadcast his show Thursday night from McAllen. Mr. Hannity is one of the president’s highest-profile supporters and is highly influential among his political base.To bolster his campaign for the wall, the president has also scheduled an interview with the Fox host Sean Hannity, who will broadcast his show Thursday night from McAllen. Mr. Hannity is one of the president’s highest-profile supporters and is highly influential among his political base.
The president’s trip comes a month before some bollard wall construction in the area, based on a previous congressional appropriation, is set to begin. The president’s trip came a month before some bollard wall construction in the area, based on a previous congressional appropriation, is set to begin.
At least seven senior aides were aboard the flight, including Jared Kushner, his son-in-law and senior adviser; Sarah Huckabee Sanders, his press secretary; Bill Shine, his deputy chief of staff for communications; Mick Mulvaney, his acting chief of staff; and Stephen Miller, a senior White House adviser and architect of the administration’s “zero tolerance” immigration policies.