President Trump during an interview on Thursday night said that the law is “100 percent on my side” when it comes to declaring a national emergency over the situation at the border.
“If we don’t make a deal with Congress, most likely I will do that,” Trump told Fox News’s Sean Hannity, referring to declaring a national emergency. “I would actually say I would. I can’t imagine any reason why not, because I’m allowed to do it.”
“The law is 100 percent on my side,” he said.
When asked about the timing of the national emergency announcement, Trump said, “I think we’re going to see what happens over the next few days.”
“Look, we’re not going anywhere,” he said. “We’re not changing our mind because there’s nothing to change your mind about.”
Trump’s remarks come after he said earlier on Thursday that it would be “surprising to me” if he did not make an emergency declaration in the case that talks with Democrats fail.
Some legal experts and Democrats have questioned whether Trump has the power to declare a national emergency in this situation.
The government shutdown on Thursday hit its twentieth day as Trump and Democratic negotiators have been unable to come to a deal over the border wall. Democrats have said multiple times that they will not offer more than $1.3 billion for border security measures, including reinforcement of existing walls and fences.
Around 800,000 federal employees are currently working without pay or expecting to be furloughed as the shutdown drags on.
“Many of the people that aren’t getting their check … they’re with us 100 percent,” Trump said. “They want us to win this battle.”
“Death is pouring through,” Trump said, apparently referring to the border wall.