President Donald Trump inches closer to declaring a national emergency on the Mexican border to allocate the cash need to complete parts of a border barrier. With the clock ticking on a deal before Feb. 15, it looks like Democrats on a bipartisan House-Senate Conference Committee have no intent of allocating Trump border barrier funding. When Trump asked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) Dec. 11, 2018 on national TV for funding to build out portions of the border barrier, they laughed in his face. When the deadline for a Continuing Budget Resolution [CBR] came up Dec. 22, Trump refused to sign, shutting down 25% of the U.S. government. Thirty-five days later, after the longest shutdown in U.S. history, Trump agreed to reopen the government Jan. 24, but only for three weeks while Democrats and Republicans negotiated for border security.
Trump walked out of meeting with Pelosi and Schumer Jan. 10, after they told him there would be no money for a border barrier even it he reopened the government. Now over a week later, a House-Senate Conference Committee has offered nothing for border barrier funding. Pelosi and Schumer have made denying Trump a key part of their strategy heading into the 2020 election with Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) declaring today that he’s running for president together with six other Democrat candidates—and more to come. “We’re not getting anywhere with them,” said Trump, referring to the House-Senate Conference Committee not giving him any funds for a border barrier. Calling it “tremendous obstruction by Democrats,” Trump hinted he would be forced to take the draconic step of declaring a national border emergency, allocating funds under his Article 2 authority as commander-in-chief.
Trump wanted to avoid a court battle that would come from declaring a national border emergency. Whether or not the funds are tied up in court, Trump will have showed his base her tried everything to protect the border heading into the 2020 campaign. After approving $25 billion in border fencing for former President Barack Obama, Pelosi’s made denying Trump funding an essential part of Democrats 2020 election strategy. “There’s not going to be any wall money” for funding for border security, said Pelosi. She said was open to more funding for ports of entry or border security technology, like drones, but not border barrier funding. Trump shut down the government over Pelosi’s last refusal to negotiate over funding for a border barrier. Trump realizes that denying him border barrier funding has been a rally cry for Democrats 2020 campaign.
When the Feb. 15 deadline for a new CBR happens, Trump retains the option to shut down the government again. Because Pelosi and Schumer won the PR battle against Trump, the president will have limited options this time around. Declaring a border emergency would put Trump in unknown legal territory, not knowing whether or not the federal courts would block his attempt to secure funding for the border barrier. While there’s plenty of evidence to justify the border emergency, it’s still possible Democrats can find injunctive relief in the federal courts. Any injunction would throw a monkey wrench into Trump’s plans, potentially hanging up the funding indefinitely. With 254 pounds of Fentanyl and 395 pounds of methamphetamine seized Jan 31 at the Nogales, Az. border, it does make Pelosi’s case for spending more on port-of-entry security on the Mexican border.
Democrats justify refusing to negotiate on border wall funding because Trump told supporters in the 2016 that Mexico would pay for the wall. When Trump signed a new trade deal with Mexico Nov. 30, 2018, it promised to pay the U.S. billions in new revenue. Yet Democrats don’t see the new trade deal as paying for the wall. Regardless of who pays for the wall, there’s no denying that Pelosi gave Obama $25 billion in 2007 to build out hundreds of miles in border fence. With denying Trump border wall funding a rally cry for the 2020 presidential race, Trump has no choice but to declare the national border emergency Feb. 15. Pelosi and Schumer hope to push Trump into an unsightly public display along the way. They like to say he throws temper tantrums to underscore his lack of fitness for duty. Denying Trump border wall funding has become Democrats first campaign promise.
Trump has two weeks to decide what to do about Pelosi and Schumer refusing to negotiate on border wall funding. Declaring a national emergency at the border enables Trump under Article 2 to allocate the resources away from Congress. Letting the House-Senate Conference Committee continue negotiating shows that Trump worked in good faith, unlike his Democrat counterparts. There’s no reason to deny Trump a compromise amount, something less than the $5.7 billion asked for border wall funding. Whether he gets it or not, Trump’s backers know that he went the extra mile to get border wall funding but was stopped by Democrats. Declaring the national border emergency drives the point home that there’s a serious problem on the Mexican border that must be addressed, regardless of Congress. At some point mainstream voters will shift opinion about the need for more border barrier funding.
