David Jackson,
USA TODAY
Published 8:49 a.m. ET Jan. 31, 2019
Updated 12:46 p.m. ET Jan. 31, 2019
WASHINGTON –
President Donald Trump expressed skepticism Thursday that
a congressional committee will agree to his demands for a border wall,
raising the specters of another government shutdown or an "emergency
declaration" sure to be challenged in court.
Tweeting
that "Republicans on the Homeland Security Committee are wasting their
time," Trump said that "Democrats, despite all of the evidence, proof
and Caravans coming, are not going to give money to build the
DESPERATELY needed WALL."
Trump did not
specifically cite the prospects of another shutdown or an emergency
declaration, but told Republicans "I’ve got you covered" because the
"wall is already being built, I don’t expect much help!"
He did not elaborate.
The
tweet came shortly after Trump changed his terms of debate, now
insisting he wants a "wall" on the border, not a "barrier" or "fence."
"Lets just call them WALLS from now on and stop playing political games!," he posted on Twitter. "A WALL is a WALL!"
After
weeks of downplaying the stark image of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico
border – and saying it could be a less obtrusive "barrier" like a "steel
slat fence" – Trump said Thursday he is returning to his original
formulation.
The new approach popped up a day after
the first meeting of a bipartisan committee of 17 lawmakers on a new
border security plan, the key feature of last week's agreement to reopen
the government until Feb. 15 following a record-setting shutdown that
lasted 35 days.
If
the committee's plan does not include wall funding to Trump's liking,
he can refuse to sign a new spending plan to keep the government open
beyond Feb. 15. That would trigger another partial government shutdown.
Trump
has also talked about declaring some sort of national emergency at the
border, theoretically allowing him to use military funds for a wall.
Democrats, however, have vowed to sue over such a declaration, saying
Trump lacks the legal authority to take such a step.
Such a move would tie up the wall debate in court for months or years.
Trump
and aides are also trying to develop a public relations plan to
influence those congressional negotiations, including next week's State
of the Union, a Super Bowl Sunday television interview and possibly another trip to the U.S.-Mexico border.
But
Trump's message and terminology has been inconsistent throughout much
of the debate. During the 2016 campaign, he reliably used the word
"wall" to describe the barrier he wants on the Southwest border. More
recently, he has taken to words like "barrier" or "steel slats."
When
Congress approved border security money that only allowed the
administration to erect previously approved barrier designs, the White
House embraced the term "bollard wall," which is a reference to a
structure that some have compared to a large, steel fence.
The
president relied on a less specific terminology just last week when he
announced the short term funding agreement to reopen the government. He
said he had heard from members of Congress willing to make a deal on
border security.
"They have said they are for
complete border security, and they have finally and fully acknowledged
that having barriers, fencing, or walls – or whatever you want to call
it – will be an important part of the solution," Trump said in the Rose
Garden.
"We do not need 2,000 miles of concrete
wall from sea to shining sea – we never did; we never proposed that; we
never wanted that – because we have barriers at the border where natural
structures are as good as anything that we can build," Trump said.
"They're already there. They've been there for millions of years."
Contributing: John Fritze
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