Not only is President Trump prepared to keep the federal government shut down for months or years, but he is now prepared to use emergency powers to build The Wall.
While answering reporters' questions in the Rose Garden, Trump stated he had the authority to use such powers and did not require congressional approval. "But we can call a national emergency and build it very quickly and it's another way of doing it," said Trump,"But if we can do it through a negotiated process, we're giving that a shot. Is that a threat hanging over the Democrats? I'd never threaten anybody but I am allowed to do it."
At best, this is an act of desperation. Speaker Pelosi isn't going to provide funding for The Wall, but Trump can't give in without incurring the wrath of Ann Coulter. The Wall is the centerpiece of his campaign. If he cave on that then his presidency has no meaning. So for him the ends justify the means.
At worst, Trump is going to act on his authoritarian impulses and see if the Courts will let him get away with it while weakening the segments of the federal government which have been shuttered. He isn't the first President to overreach his authority, but if this overreach is permitted it will do lasting damage to our Republic by weakening legislative and judicial oversight. If Trump is given an inch, he will take a mile. Perhaps all 1,954 miles of the U.S.-Mexican border.
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