BORDER/DEMS/GOP/GOVERNMENT/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/WALL: “President Donald Trump said there is a ‘good chance’ he’ll declare a national emergency to build his proposed border wall and said he would use his State of the Union address next week to once again make a case for the barrier. ‘I think there’s a good chance we’ll have to do that,’ he said of the declaration, which he has threatened for weeks. ‘We have very strong legal standing.’ The emergency declaration could help the Trump administration free up billions of dollars in construction money for the wall, but it will also almost certainly face legal challenges that could redefine the president’s ability to use emergency powers. A bipartisan group of lawmakers is working against a Feb. 15 deadline to produce a deal to fund the government and avoid another shutdown. Trump has demanded the final product include funding for his proposed border wall but has also said Republicans on the committee are ‘wasting their time’ trying to negotiate with Democrats. Trump is debating how to handle wall funding while he is also planning a pair of high-profile meetings with foreign leaders.”
–John Fritze and David Jackson, “Trump says there’s a ‘good chance’ he’ll declare an emergency for border wall,” USA Today, February 4, 2019 8:45 pm