President Donald Trump tweeted on Friday afternoon that he would be making a “major announcement” about the ongoing government shutdown and the southern border.
Trump tweeted, “I will be making a major announcement concerning the Humanitarian Crisis on our Southern Border, and the Shutdown, tomorrow afternoon at 3 P.M., live from the @WhiteHouse.”
I will be making a major announcement concerning the Humanitarian Crisis on our Southern Border, and the Shutdown, tomorrow afternoon at 3 P.M., live from the @WhiteHouse.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 18, 2019
The government has been in the midst of a partial shutdown dating back to December 22. It’s currently the longest shutdown on record. (RELATED: I’m A Senior Trump Official, And I Hope A Long Shutdown Smokes Out The Resistance)
The shutdown affects roughly 800,000 federal employees, who missed their first paychecks a week ago. A press release from the Senate Appropriations Committee estimated more than 420,000 essential federal employees would be expected to work without pay.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media before departing the White House for California, where he is scheduled to view damage from the state’s wildfires, on November 17, 2018 in Washington, DC.(Photo by Jim Lo Scalzo-Pool/Getty Images)
President Trump has demanded over $5 billion in funding for a wall to be built along the southern border. The Democrats have flatly refused, with Speaker Pelosi, among other Democrats, calling a wall “immoral.” The Democrats had offered the White House less than $2 billion for “border security,” but refused to allow that money to be used toward building a wall.
The question remains whether the president could declare a state of emergency, thus giving him the necessary authorization to divert funds to build a wall.