Trump set to declare border emergency, sign shutdown-averting billUS President Donald TrumpPresident Donald Trump was poised on Friday to declare a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border, a move that Democrats vowed to challenge as an unconstitutional attempt to fund his proposed border wall without approval from Congress.Trump was also expected to sign a bipartisan government spending bill approved by Congress on Thursday that would prevent another federal shutdown by funding several agencies that otherwise would have closed on Saturday morning. Reorienting his wall-funding quest toward a legally uncertain strategy based on declaring a national emergency could plunge Trump into a lengthy battle with Democrats and divide his fellow Republicans. SEE ALSO :Trump threatens to slash GM subsidiesEven before the White House said on Thursday that Trump would declare an emergency, Republican senators, although sympathetic to his view that the southern border is in crisis, were skeptical of an emergency declaration meant to shift funds to the wall from other commitments set by Congress. The funds would cover just part of the estimated $23 billion cost of the wall promised by Trump along the 2,000-mile (3,200-km) border with Mexico. Trump was expected to sign it and declare an emergency, then fly to his private golf club in Florida for a holiday weekend break.

Source: Standard Digital February 15, 2019 10:52 UTC