Pelosi and Schumer openly maintain that they will not provide funding for President Trump’s border wall. This comes in spite of the February 15th deadline which Congress has to put forth legislation to keep government open.
The Possibility of a National Emergency Declaration
Since the Democrats’ admission that no wall funding will be included in prospective legislation, Trump has stated that negotiations are a “waste of time.”
The president has furthermore discussed the possibility of declaring a national emergency to build the wall. As the deadline approaches, Americans have pondered the potential consequences of a national emergency declaration. Although, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell believes that the declaration may not be accepted by Congress.
“I’m for whatever works; [that] means avoiding a shutdown and avoiding the president feeling he should declare a national emergency.”
President Trump has previously expressed his desire to garner wall funding via negotiations. During the government shutdown, the president put forth an immigration compromise bill; the bill included the provision of DACA and TPS protections for illegal immigrants brought to America as minors. In exchange for the aforementioned protections, Democrats would have provided funding for the border wall. Of course, the Democrats immediately rejected the compromise bill.
