In taking the unprecedented step Friday of declaring a national emergency to fund a course of action Congress had rejected, President Donald Trump has set a devastating precedent that even members of Congress who believe a huge border wall needs to be built are honor bound to stop.
Trump signed an emergency declaration enabling him to build a wall by tapping into billions of dollars of funds appropriated for other purposes. The president had no other way to save face. Congress denied him the taxpayer dollars he wanted, and Trump's promise that Mexico would pay for the wall continues to be an empty one.
The emergency declaration came as the president signed a congressional budget deal to keep the government open. The agreement included $1.375 billion to construct fencing, not walls. Trump said he will combine that money with $3.6 billion set aside for military construction projects, $2.5 billion from federal drug-enforcement programs and $600 million from a federal asset-forfeiture fund to construct sections of wall. The $8 billion total exceeds the $5.7 billion he had asked for and been denied by Congress. It also lets Trump claim victory in a process that, after he capitulated and reopened the government following a 35-day shutdown, had become a clear and stinging defeat.
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