Trump, Heading to the Border, Suggests He Will Declare an Emergency to Fund the Wall – The New York Times

[A shut down government actually costs more than an open one.]

In Texas, he is expected to meet with Border Patrol officials who are being forced to work without pay because of the funding impasse.

The president maintains he has the option of declaring a national emergency to fund construction for the wall, perhaps the central promise that he made to his political base during his campaign, and bypassing a legislative solution.

The White House counsel, Pat Cipollone, was to accompany the president to Texas, according to a White House official who declined to be identified to discuss internal matters. Mr. Trump said he has the legal authority to make the declaration.

“This is a thing that the lawyers tell me is 100 percent,” Mr. Trump said.

If the president were to declare a national emergency, which some legal experts say is within his authority, it is sure to stoke debate in Congress.

To bolster his campaign for the wall, the president has also scheduled an interview with the Fox host Sean Hannity, who will broadcast his show Thursday night from McAllen. Mr. Hannity is one of the president’s highest-profile supporters and is highly influential among his political base.

The president’s trip comes a month before some bollard wall construction in the area, based on a previous congressional appropriation, is set to begin.