U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media before departing the White House for Camp David on January 6, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo: Chris Kleponis - Pool/Getty Images)
With Shutdown Talks at Standstill, Trump Declares: "I May Declare National Emergency" to Build Wall
President repeats a threat that legal experts argue he has no constitutional (or moral) authority to execute
With negotiations between Congressional Democrats, Republican lawmakers, and President Donald Trump at a deadlock over the president's demand for $5.6 billion to build what he insists is an actual "wall" along the U.S./Mexico border, Trump on Sunday morning again threatened to declare national emergency if he does not get what he wants in the coming days.
"I may declare a national emergency dependent on what's going to happen on the next few days," the president told reporters outside the White House.
Meanwhile, Trump's new acting Chief of Staff, Mick Mulvaney admitted just hours earlier on NBC's Meet the Press that negotiations with Democrats over the weekend have gone nowhere. "We're at $5.6 billion. And I think they're at zero," Mulvaney confessed, referencing the $5.6 billion Trump is demanding for his wall.
Since first floating the idea of a national emergency declaration on Friday, legal experts have argued he has no constitutional (or moral) authority to do so, even as reporting from inside the White House indicates Trump has been getting support for the move from right-wing confidants and xenophobic hardliners with whom he discusses policy.
Urgent. It's never been this bad.
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission from the outset was simple. To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It’s never been this bad out there. And it’s never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed and doing some of its best and most important work, the threats we face are intensifying. Right now, with just three days to go in our Spring Campaign, we're falling short of our make-or-break goal. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Can you make a gift right now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? There is no backup plan or rainy day fund. There is only you. —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
With negotiations between Congressional Democrats, Republican lawmakers, and President Donald Trump at a deadlock over the president's demand for $5.6 billion to build what he insists is an actual "wall" along the U.S./Mexico border, Trump on Sunday morning again threatened to declare national emergency if he does not get what he wants in the coming days.
"I may declare a national emergency dependent on what's going to happen on the next few days," the president told reporters outside the White House.
Meanwhile, Trump's new acting Chief of Staff, Mick Mulvaney admitted just hours earlier on NBC's Meet the Press that negotiations with Democrats over the weekend have gone nowhere. "We're at $5.6 billion. And I think they're at zero," Mulvaney confessed, referencing the $5.6 billion Trump is demanding for his wall.
Since first floating the idea of a national emergency declaration on Friday, legal experts have argued he has no constitutional (or moral) authority to do so, even as reporting from inside the White House indicates Trump has been getting support for the move from right-wing confidants and xenophobic hardliners with whom he discusses policy.
With negotiations between Congressional Democrats, Republican lawmakers, and President Donald Trump at a deadlock over the president's demand for $5.6 billion to build what he insists is an actual "wall" along the U.S./Mexico border, Trump on Sunday morning again threatened to declare national emergency if he does not get what he wants in the coming days.
"I may declare a national emergency dependent on what's going to happen on the next few days," the president told reporters outside the White House.
Meanwhile, Trump's new acting Chief of Staff, Mick Mulvaney admitted just hours earlier on NBC's Meet the Press that negotiations with Democrats over the weekend have gone nowhere. "We're at $5.6 billion. And I think they're at zero," Mulvaney confessed, referencing the $5.6 billion Trump is demanding for his wall.
Since first floating the idea of a national emergency declaration on Friday, legal experts have argued he has no constitutional (or moral) authority to do so, even as reporting from inside the White House indicates Trump has been getting support for the move from right-wing confidants and xenophobic hardliners with whom he discusses policy.