WATCH: Trump Declares National Emergency To Build Wall

By NPR, Associated Press
Published: Friday, February 15, 2019 - 8:18am
Updated: Wednesday, February 27, 2019 - 8:36am

President Donald Trump announced Friday that he will declare a national emergency to fulfill his pledge to construct a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Trump said he will use executive powers to bypass Congress, which approved far less money for his proposed wall than he had sought. He plans to siphon billions of dollars from federal military construction and counterdrug efforts for the wall. The move is already drawing bipartisan criticism on Capitol Hill and expected to face rounds of legal challenges.

"I am going to be signing a national emergency," Trump said from the Rose Garden, as he claimed illegal immigration marked "an invasion of our country."

Politics