President Donald Trump on Friday declared a national emergency in a bid to fund his promised wall at the US-Mexico border without congressional approval. By declaring a national emergency, Trump can use certain Department of Defense funding to build the wall. According to the law, the defence secretary has to decide whether the wall is militarily necessary before money from the military construction budget can be used. Shanahan said he did not expect to take money away from projects like military housing. The Republican president’s move, circumventing Congress, seeks to make good on a 2016 presidential campaign pledge to build a border wall that Trump insists is necessary to curtail illegal immigration.

Source: Dhaka Tribune February 17, 2019 00:56 UTC