Trump interview: President says border situation is 'national emergency' as he edges closer to declaration
President takes trip to Texas on 20th day of government shutdown
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Your support makes all the difference.Donald Trump has doubled down on his threat to declare a national emergency to free up federal funds to build a wall on a visit to Texas as part of an interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity.
When asked how soon it would be before he declare an emergency, the president said "if we don't make a deal with Congress most likely I will do that". Despite the fact any such move would bring legal challenges, Mr Trump said the law is "100 per cent on my side".
He went on to call the situation at the border "a national emergency, if you look what's happening."
Mr Trump did not lay out a specific timetable for when he might take the step of a declaration, saying: “I think we're going to see what happens over the next few days.”
Critics have accused Mr Trump of "manufacturing" a border crisis to try and get the wall as part of a deal to end a partial government shutdown.
Two days after delivering a televised address to the nation to make his case for a wall, and a day after he abruptly left a meeting with Democrats after they refused to pay for one, Mr Trump travelled to the city of McAllen where he signed autographs for supporters and met border agency officials.
As he left the White House for his visit to Texas, Mr Trump again denied throwing a “temper tantrum” during the encounter with Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi a day earlier.
At a roundtable meeting with community leaders and officials in McAllen, among them Texas senator Ted Cruz, the president repeated his insistence that a wall would be be built.
“We’re going to build a powerful steel barrier. They said we don’t want a concrete wall. I said that’s okay, we’ll call it a steel barrier,” he said.
“They say this is a manufactured crisis. That’s their new sound bite ... Every network has ‘manufactured crisis’. But it’s not. What’s manufactured is the word ‘manufactured’.”
The president - who has cancelled an upcoming trip to Davos, Switzerland, because of the shutdown - also sought to address those critics who have pointed out he used to repeatedly promise Mexico would pay for any barrier. He claimed without evidence that the terms of a new trade deal with Mexico and Canada will provide the money for the wall.
“When I say Mexico’s going to pay for the wall ... I didn’t say they’re going to write me a check for $10bn or $20bn,” he said. “If Congress approves this trade bill, they’ll pay for the wall many times over. When I say Mexico’s going to lpay for the wall, that’s what I mean”.
To see how events unfolded throughout the day, see our liveblog below
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"I think Mr Trump will have to answer to his own party... about taking that much power," Ms Pelsoi says when asked about a national emergency declaration.
But she adds she does not want to talk about that until the president announces it.
Immigrant bodies found about 50 miles from where Trump plans his Texas visit
A gruesome scene has been found near the US-Mexico border, not far from where Mr Trump is scheduled to visit on Thursday as he drums up support for funding for his border wall.
The shutdown has hurt a US offshore wind farm, but the Trump administration is working hard to make sure oil drilling isn't impacted — and it may be illegal
The partial shutdown has stopped fishermen from heading out, and delayed a public meeting for an offshore wind farm in Massachusetts — but the Trump administration is looking for ways to keep drilling for oil during the lapse in funding.
And, as the administration focuses on helping oil drilling out, critics say that could be breaking the law, according to Bloomberg News.
“One of the principles of government is that you serve everybody equally [but that’s not what’s happening here]", Matt Lee-Ashley, a former deputy chief of staff at the Interior Department, told Bloomberg. “The oil industry is still getting business as usual and everybody else is getting shut out, so it’s fundamentally not fair and it may be illegal too".
How does that work? Well, while environmental reviews and other government functions are halted during the shutdown, the Interior Department is still issuing permits for drilling.
Trump channels Obama to justify the shutdown
Mr Trump told reporters on Thursday morning that the US needs a border wall because there is a humanitarian crisis on the southwestern border — and noted that his predecessor had also once declared a humanitarian crisis there.
While the president is known for his absolute aversion to Mr Obama and his policies — story has it that he will make decisions based on whatever is the opposite of what his predecessor would have done — Mr Trump later tweeted a thank you to the man who occupied the Oval Office before him.
States consider funding the wall for the president
From the Associated Press: Montana's Senate president is proposing the state give more than $8m to help build Donald Trump's proposed wall on the Mexican border.
At least one other state, South Dakota, is considering voicing support for Trump's wall. But Montana, which last year faced a massive budget shortfall, appears to be the first to propose spending its own money on the project.
Scott Sales, a Republican, says his proposal is a "small token" to show border security "is of vital interest to all citizens regardless of what state they live in".
House Minority Leader Casey Schreiner, a Democrat, says he'd like to see Sales focus on building Montana's infrastructure.
FBI agents will not receive paychecks on Friday
From the Associated Press: The association that represents thousands of FBI agents says the partial federal government shutdown is affecting the bureau’s operations.
The FBI Agents Association sent a petition Thursday to the White House and congressional leaders encouraging them to fund the FBI immediately.
The association’s president, Tom O’Connor, told reporters in a conference call that Friday will be the first day that FBI personnel will not receive a paycheck.
He said the problems caused by the shutdown could make it harder to recruit and retain agents, cause delays at the FBI lab and in getting or renewing security clearances.
Mr O’Connor said the FBI’s petition is not about politics, but that financial security for agents is important for national security.
Trump cancels Davos visit
Donald Trump has cancelled his planned trip to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland later this month, amid the ongoing partial shutdown of the US government.
"Because of the Democrats intransigence on Border Security and the great importance of Safety for our Nation, I am respectfully cancelling my very important trip to Davos, Switzerland for the World Economic Forum," Mr Trump tweeted.
Democrats are passing funding legislation — but Mitch McConnell is standing firm with the president
From the Associated Press: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is blocking an attempt by Democrats to force a vote on legislation to reopen the federal government.
Democrats went to the Senate floor Thursday and asked for consent to vote on a series of bills that would end the partial government shutdown, which was in its 20th day.
Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland said the bills were uncontroversial and were broadly supported by Republicans in the past. Cardin says the country is being “held hostage” by President Donald Trump as he seeks funding for a U.S.-Mexico border wall.
McConnell objected to the Democratic request, saying he won’t agree to “pointless show votes” on bills Trump won’t sign. McConnell noted that Democrats agreed in December to not vote on a funding package until a deal was reached by Trump and leaders from both parties.
The border wall was a signature campaign promise for Trump. Democrats have called a wall costly, ineffective and immoral.
McConnell calls Democrats 'partisan' for their treatment of Trump before referencing the Obama years
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says Democrats need help with “their brand new partisan allergy” to a barrier at the U.S.-Mexico border.
The Kentucky Republican on Thursday used visual aids on the Senate floor to suggest that Democrats supported such a barrier under President Barack Obama but opposed one under President Donald Trump. He recommended that Democrats “seek some treatment for their brand new party allergy to border security.”
Democrats are refusing Trump’s demand for $5.7 billion for part of a wall across the southern border. In 2013, some Democrats supported a $46 billion bill for a number of border security measures, including new fencing. But that legislation would have created a pathway to citizenship for millions of people in the U.S. illegally. It failed.
Trump gets laughs talking history at roundtable: 'They say a wall is medieval, well you know what, so is a wheel'
Mr Trump said as much during a roundtable in McAllen, Texas, where he is visiting to promote funding for his proposed border wall. Border Patrol vehicles, the president observed, have wheels.
That wall — or barrier as he has come to calling it — has been the catalyst for the second longest government shutdown in US history.
The shutdown, which was started after Mr Trump refused to sign government funding unless it included $5.7bn in wall funding, could become the longest government shutdown in US history this weekend.
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