Trump is trying to say that he will build his wall out of steel instead of concrete, and Democrats have responded by telling him no wall.
Geoff Bennett of NBC News reported, “Here’s the state of play. Here are where things stand right now. You have the definition of a border wall becoming more flexible by the day. Mick Mulvaney, the white house acting chief of staff says the president is willing to take this concrete wall off the table entirely, but Democrats have said all along that a barrier, whether a steel fence or a concrete wall is a non-starter. They and even many Republicans make the point that a wall is not effective. Manpower and technology are what you need to secure the border. And so it appears now that the administration is no longer even budging on this $5 billion price tag that led to this shutdown in the first place. So that’s why you have president trump saying if he doesn’t get what he wants, he’s threatening to declare a national emergency in the next few days that would allow him potentially to build this wall without having to get congressional approval.”
Video:
Trump could ask Democrats for $5 billion to build a wall out of popsicle sticks, and the answer would still be no. https://t.co/ChVpxkeqrq pic.twitter.com/7nQ1Q2TTAA
To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.
— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) January 6, 2019
Trump chief of staff Mick Mulvaney tried to spin what the wall is made of as some sort of gigantic concession on Meet The Press, “Let me tell you what — because that came up the other day in the private meeting with the big eight as they call the leaders in the House and the Senate, Republicans, Democrats, was that he was willing to agree, and he mentioned this at the Rose Garden press conference, to take a concrete wall off the table. That is — if that is not evidence of our willingness to solve the problem, okay, because again, what’s driving this is the president’s desire to change the conditions at the border. And if he has to give up a concrete wall, replace it with a steel fence in order to do that so that Democrats can say, “See? He’s not building a wall anymore,” that should help us move in the right direction.”
When Democrats said no wall they meant no wall
The issue that Democrats and Republicans have with the wall isn’t what it will be made out of, it is that the wall is a dumb idea and a waste of money. When Democrats said take the concrete wall off of the table, they meant no wall. How many times do Democrats have to say no wall before Trump and the White House get the message?
If Trump tries to declare a national emergency to build his wall, he will be immediately sued, and likely blocked from moving forward. Trump has limited authority to move funds, so even declaring a national emergency may require an act of Congress to authorize the use of funds for a wall.
The wall isn’t going to happen, as Democrats are not going to give Trump a dime for the wall.
For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.
Follow Jason Easley on Facebook.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
