Trump to visit Texas's southern border as federal closure continues



[ad_1]

Barely a day after his release from a controversial meeting at the White House with congressional leaders, President Trump personally prepares to head to the southern border while pondering the possibility of declaring an emergency national to fund a wall there.

million. Trump is scheduled to travel to McAllen, Texas, a city of 143,000 on the banks of the river near the US-Mexico border. This will be the 20th day of the partial closure underway by the federal government, affecting nearly 800,000 federal employees. His chief adviser and son-in-law, Jared Kushner, White House acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, and US Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen are expected to join Trump

. reported that advanced intelligence teams have locked Anzalduas Park in Mission, Texas, "sitting along the Rio Grande in the shadow of the Anzalduas International Bridge and is frequently patrolled by officers of the border patrol trying to intercept those who enter the country illegally "

Sarah Sanders, Press Secretary at the White House, for the first time announced the trip to the border Monday, saying the president" would meet those who are on the front lines of the humanitarian crisis and national security. " (The president had previously viewed prototypes of walls near the border in San Diego, California, in March 2018.)

In response to a New York Times article, suggesting that Trump does not really want to participate in the Thursday trip and sees the visit as such. Kellyanne Conway, a White House advisor, told reporters on Wednesday that Trump was "enthusiastic" and that he "wants to meet men and women" who protect the border "to hear what they are saying. see and what they need. "

  FILE - This Monday, January 7, 2019, photo of the record, projectors from the United States, illuminating several border walls, seen from Tijuana, Mexico. (Photo AP / Gregory Bull, File)

FILE – This Monday, January 7, 2019, a photo, projectors from the United States illuminate multiple boundary walls seen from Tijuana, Mexico. (AP Photo / Gregory Bull, File)

It seems increasingly possible that Trump, who repeatedly threatened to declare the state of emergency, could use the visit to determine whether it is appropriate to take this extraordinary step.

The National Emergencies Act gives the president broad authority to declare emergency situations, and several federal laws could then pave the way for the White House to move forward with construction from a wall.

A law, 33 US Code § 2293 – "Reprogramming in case of National Emergency", authorizes the President to "apply the resources of the Civil Engineering Works Program of the Department of the Army, including including funds, personnel and equipment, to construct or assist in the construction, operation, maintenance and repair of civil works, military constructions and civil defense projects Authorized essential to national defense. "

TRUMP WINS CANDY AND GOES OUT OF THE EXPLOSIVE WHITE HOUSE MEETING WITH TOP DEMS

Another Law, US Code 10, § 2808 -" Authority Construction in case of declaration of war or national emergency ", authorizes the Secretary of Defense, in cases of emergency declared by the President, to use" the funds allocated to the military construction "for the purposes of the realization of "construction projects military ". [19659003] More than 35 million people watched Tuesday evening's first prime-time trump speech given by the Oval Office on the importance of border security, followed by a replica of the president's House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y. Trump did not declare the state of emergency during this speech, instead calling for a compromise, without however denying his request for a $ 5.7 billion financing for the construction of A border wall.

Nevertheless, Wednesday, both sides seemed more distant than ever. compromise that Trump asked for in his address. The Democrats-led House has approved a bill to fund the Treasury Department, the IRS and other agencies for the next year as part of a strategy to reopen the government on a case-by-case basis, but Senate Republicans rejected this attempt, saying it was not a bottomless party. . Eight Republicans supported the measure.

Acting Director of the White House Budget Office, Russell Vought, promised this week that tax refunds would still be paid even if the IRS remained unfunded because customary rules would be modified to make payments possible. .

Trump left the White House meeting at the White House Wednesday afternoon as a result of the partial closure of the government, Pelosi again rejected funding for a new funding for a border wall, according to the participants in the meeting.

  Workers replace sections of the border wall, left, with new sections, right, Tuesday in Tijuana, Mexico.

Workers replace sections of the border wall, left, with new sections, right, Tuesday in Tijuana, Mexico.
(AP)

Although most major Republicans supported Wednesday Trump – with the House's minority whip, Steve Scalise, R-La., Calling his remarks "a firm determination to reopen the government while securing our southern border "- There are signs that not all Republicans were aligned with the White House.

GOP West Virginia Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, a member of the Domestic Security Credits Subcommittee, rejected Trump's comments that the closure could last "in several years". "Seven Republicans voted in favor of a democratic bill to end the closure last week without funding for a border wall, and others have suggested supporting bills to fund some federal government agencies without wall funding ".

However, Republican leaders insisted that defections were rare.

"Frankly, I see no hesitation," said North Carolina Republican Representative Mark Meadows, who chairs Conservative House Freedom Cau. cus, said Wednesday.

Funds have already been allocated for the construction of additional barriers on the southern border. In March, Congress funded 33 miles of walls and fences in Texas, and the federal government began surveying the lands along the border in the state and announced plans to begin construction work. next month.

The government presented plans that would intersect private land in the Rio Grande Valley. Landowners settled in the valley for generations, environmental groups and a 19th century chapel

CLICK HERE TO GET THE APPLICATION FOX NEWS

Democratic Gov't of New Mexico . At the same time, Michelle Lujan Grisham announced that she would be traveling Friday to the southern border of her state with Mexico.

Grisham, who described the idea of ​​a wall as outdated and ineffective, had previously indicated that she would reconsider the state's deployment of the National Guard. troops on the border by Republican predecessor Susana Martinez. The state sent about 180 soldiers.

Brooke Singman of Fox News, Alex Pappas, and the Associated Press contributed to the writing of this report.

[ad_2]
Source link