Trump and Pelosi battle over border wall funding, amid prospect of 'national emergency'

'There’s not going to be any wall money in the legislation' said Nancy Pelosi

(REUTERS)

President Donald Trump and Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi continue to quarrel over construction of a wall on the US-Mexico border and its funding on Thursday as negotiators work to come up with a deal to keep the government open before a February 15 deadline.

Before reopening the government - after surviving the longest federal closure in American history - Mr Trump gave Congress three weeks to come up with a resolution on a long-term funding plan while requiring $5.6bn for the border wall included in the legislation.

The speaker was previously hesitant to entirely rule out money for the border wall in the final funding agreement. But now, Ms Pelosi has hardened her stance on border security funding, stating that there will be no money for the wall.

“There’s not going to be any wall money in the legislation,” Ms Pelosi said in a press conference on Thursday, before adding that border security involving infrastructure and technology are a part of the negotiations.

The president dismissed the Democratic leader, claiming she is “just playing games” while insisting she would be “begging for a wall,” if a swarm of undocumented immigrants crossed the border.

Appearing in the Oval Office, the president offered a morose outlook on what lies ahead before the mid-month deadline, threatening to declare a national emergency to circumvent Congress in receiving the wall money.

“I’m not waiting for this committee and I’ve told a lot of people I don’t expect much coming out of the committee because I keep hearing words that ‘We’ll give you what you want but we won’t give you a wall.’ And the problem is, if they don’t give us a wall, it doesn’t work,” Trump added, appearing alongside Cabinet members and executives.

The president and his aides were making preparation for a national emergency order this week in the event that Congress fails to buckle on the negotiations, officials say. Drafts of the national emergency order has been reportedly passed around among White House aides and lawyers.

The president’s senior advisers, including Jared Kushner, warned that a move to declare a national order will immediately be challenged in court.

But Mr Trump said on Thursday that he is “not concerned” about the possible legal challenges that comes with a national emergency declaration in order to build the wall.

“I’m waiting until February 15,” Mr Trump said on Thursday. “On February 15, the committee will come back, and if they don’t have a wall, I don’t even want to waste my time reading what they have, because it’s a waste of time.”