Washington: The White House is preparing a draft proclamation for President Donald Trump to declare a national emergency along the US-Mexico border and has identified more than $7 billion in potential funds for his border wall should he go that route, according to internal documents.
Trump has not ruled out using his authority to declare a national emergency and direct the Defence Department to construct a border wall as Congress and the White House were still at an impasse over a deal to end the govt shutdown, CNN said.
But while Trump’s advisers remain divided on the issue, the White House has been moving forward with alternative plans that would bypass Congress. “The massive amount of aliens who unlawfully enter the US each day is a direct threat to the safety and security of our nation and constitutes a national emergency,” a draft of a presidential proclamation reads.
“Now, therefore, I, Donald J Trump, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the National Emergencies Act, hereby declare that a national emergency exists at the southern border of the United States,” the draft adds. Meanwhile, the US Senate on Thursday rejected two proposals, one by the Republicans and the other by Democrats, to fully reopen the federal government.
