President Donald Trump said in a Friday afternoon press conference that he could declare a national emergency over immigration at the southern U.S. border to circumvent the need for congressional approval to build a border wall. Asked specifically whether he has considered granting himself the authority to build his much-discussed wall, Trump replied, “Yes, I have.”“And I can do it if I want,” he told reporters gathered in the White House Rose Garden. “We can call a national emergency and build it very quickly.”A dispute over funding for the massive infrastructure project Trump first proposed on the campaign trail led to the partial government shutdown that began two weeks ago. Trump has said that he is willing to wait “as long as it takes” to obtain funds for the wall, which became one of his central campaign promises. While Trump originally described a solid concrete structure, he has since indicated the barrier could take the form of a steel slatted fence.

Source: Huffington Post January 04, 2019 20:06 UTC