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A2 UP FRONT
Friday 15 February 2019
EMERGENCY base and avoid looking like Sen. Charles Grassley, R-
Continued from Front he's surrendered in his wall Iowa, said after a chaplain
In an unusual joint state- battle with Congress. opened Thursday's Senate
ment, House Speaker Nan- The bipartisan pact pro- session.
cy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Sen- vides enough money to Moments before Sanders
ate Minority Leader Chuck build just 55 miles of barri- spoke at the White House,
Schumer, D-N.Y., said such cades in Texas' Rio Grande Senate Majority Leader
a declaration would be "a Valley — well short of the Mitch McConnell took to
lawless act, a gross abuse billions Trump has demand- the Senate floor to an-
of the power of the presi- ed to construct 200-plus nounce Trump's decisions
dency and a desperate miles as a down-payment to sign the bill and declare
attempt to distract" from for an even longer and an emergency.
Trump's failure to force larger wall. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas,
Mexico to pay for the wall, The uproar over what Trump who is close to McConnell,
as he's repeatedly prom- would do next cast an un- told reporters that there
ised for years. certain shadow over what were two hours of phone
Pelosi and Schumer also had been a rare display of calls between McCon-
said that "Congress will de- bipartisanship in Congress nell and the White House
fend our constitutional au- to address the grinding before there were assur- House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., joins supporters
thorities." They declined to battle between the White ances that Trump would of President Donald Trump and family members of Americans
say whether that meant House and lawmakers over sign. In a surprising devel- killed by undocumented immigrants as they gather to to pro-
mote their support for a border wall with Mexico, at the Capitol
lawsuits or votes on resolu- border security. opment, McConnell said in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2019.
tions to prevent Trump from The abrupt announcement he would support Trump's Associated Press
unilaterally shifting money of Trump's plans came emergency declaration, a
to wall-building, with aides late in an afternoon of turnabout for the Kentucky national emergency. But D-N.Y., said they were op-
saying they would wait to rumblings that the volatile Republican, who like many according to the law the posing the agreement to
see what he does. president — who'd strongly lawmakers had until now money has to be used in show "a rejection of the
Several Democratic state hinted he'd sign the agree- opposed such action. support of U.S. armed forc- hateful policies, priorities,
attorneys general said they ment but never definitively With many of the Demo- es, they say. and rhetoric of the Trump
would look at legal action — was shifting toward re- crats' liberal base voters The Defense Department Administration."
to block Trump, and Puerto jecting it. That would have adamantly against sup- has declined to provide The measure contains
Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello infused fresh chaos into a porting any of Trump's ag- any details on available money for improved sur-
told the president on Twitter fight both parties are des- gressive attempts to curb money. veillance equipment, more
"we'll see you in court" if he perate to leave behind, a immigration, four declared Democrats say there is no customs agents and hu-
goes through with the dec- thought that drove some presidential hopefuls op- crisis at the border and manitarian aid for detained
laration. lawmakers to seek heav- posed the bill in the Sen- Trump is merely sidestep- immigrants. The overall bill
Despite widespread oppo- enly help. ate: Cory Booker of New ping Congress. And some also provides $330 billion to
sition in Congress, including "Let's all pray that the presi- Jersey, New York's Kirsten Republicans warn that fu- finance dozens of federal
from some Republicans, dent will have wisdom to Gillibrand, Elizabeth War- ture Democratic presidents programs for the rest of the
Trump is under pressure to sign the bill so the govern- ren of Massachusetts and could use his precedent year, one-fourth of federal
soothe his conservative ment doesn't shut down," Kamala Harris of California. to force spending on their agency budgets.
Amy Klobuchar of Minne- own priorities such as gun Trump sparked the last shut-
sota voted for it, as did Ver- control. down before Christmas af-
mont Independent Bernie Notably, the word "wall," ter Democrats snubbed his
Sanders, who is expected the heart of many a chant demand for $5.7 billion for
to join the field soon. at Trump campaign events the wall. The closure denied
White House aides and and his rallies as president, paychecks to 800,000 fed-
congressional Republicans is absent from the com- eral workers, hurt contrac-
have said that besides an promise's 1,768-page leg- tors and people reliant on
emergency, Trump might islative and descriptive government services and
assert other authorities that language. "Barriers" and was loathed by the public.
could conceivably put him "fencing" are the nouns of With polls showing the pub-
within reach of billions of choice, a victory for Demo- lic blamed him and GOP
dollars. That money could crats eager to deny Trump lawmakers, Trump folded
come from funds targeted even a rhetorical victory. on Jan. 25 without getting
for military construction, The agreement, which took any of the wall funds. His
disaster relief and counter- bargainers three weeks to capitulation was a political
drug efforts. strike, would also squeeze fiasco for Republicans and
Congressional aides say funding for Immigration handed Pelosi a victory less
there is $21 billion in military and Customs Enforcement, than a month after Demo-
construction money that or ICE, in an attempt to crats took over the House
could potentially be used pressure the agency to de- and confronted Trump with
by Trump if he declares a tain fewer immigrants. To a formidable rival for pow-
the dismay of Democrats, er.
however, it would still leave Trump has repeatedly
an agency many of them vowed Mexico would pay
consider abusive holding for the wall, a suggestion
thousands more immigrants that country has spurned.
than last year. His descriptions of the wall's
Provisions like that were size have fluctuated, at
prompting some of the times saying it would cover
most liberal Democrats to 1,000 miles of the 2,000-mile
vote "no." Four progressive boundary. Previous admin-
freshmen including Rep. Al- istrations constructed over
exandria Octavio-Cortez, 650 miles of barriers.q