Donald Trump’s emergency declaration risks touching off new battle with Congress
White House says declaration allows president to take $3.6bn from military construction projects to build a wall on the US border with Mexico
Donald Trump ended two months of uncertainty on Friday by signing a spending bill to keep the federal government open, but the political fight is just beginning over his decision to declare a national emergency on the border. House Democrats may pass a resolution disapproving the emergency declaration, which the White House says allows him to take $3.6bn from military construction projects to instead build a wall on the US border with Mexico. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer could force a vote on the resolution after it passes the House, and there are indications that several Republicans would support it. That would put Trump on the defensive, requiring him to at least lobby his own party to defeat the resolution while publicly defending an assertion of presidential authority that two-thirds of Americans oppose, according to a CNN poll released Friday. In the political worst case for the president, he’d have to veto the resolution. But it still would prove embarrassing to Trum...
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