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WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump plans to declare a national emergency as Congress moves to pass a government spending deal that provides further funding for border security, the White House announced Thursday.
“President Trump will sign the government funding bill, and as he has stated before, he will also take other executive action — including a national emergency — to ensure we stop the national security and humanitarian crisis at the border," White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement. "The President is once again delivering on his promise to build the wall, protect the border, and secure our great country."
Trump's statement comes ahead of a Senate vote on the government spending deal, which provides further funding for border security but includes no money for Trump's border wall.
The bill, negotiated by a bipartisan group of congressional leaders, will likely be taken up by the House later Thursday ahead of the Friday night deadline to prevent another partial government shutdown.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced earlier Thursday afternoon that Trump would sign the spending package that resulted from bipartisan negotiations over border security and also will declare a national emergency, which the president has intended to use to obtain more money for his proposed wall.
"I just had an opportunity to speak with President Trump and he’s prepared to sign the bill," McConnell, R-Ky., said on the Senate floor. "He will also be signing a national emergency declaration at the same time."
After the Senate votes, the House is also expected to pass the spending package.
Trump said earlier in the day that he was still reviewing the bill. In the morning, Republican senators had said that they "pray" Trump signs it into law, averting another government shutdown on Friday.
The House will likely vote on the 1,159-page bill, which was released just after midnight, later in the evening, ahead of the Friday night deadline to prevent another partial government shutdown.
Trump had said he is not "happy" with the measure, though he has been expected to sign it. "Reviewing the funding bill with my team at the @WhiteHouse!" he tweeted Thursday afternoon, ahead of the Senate vote.
The bill would provide $1.375 billion for 55 miles of pedestrian and levee fencing in the Rio Grande Valley, significantly less than Trump's $5.7 billion request. It also would prohibit the use of a concrete wall or other Trump prototypes and specifies that only "existing technologies" for fencing and barriers can be used.
Trump expected to sign deal to avoid government shutdown
Feb. 14, 201902:53Despite a 35-day government shutdown over $5.7 billion for a border wall, the president came out with a worse deal than he would have gotten if he had backed the funding bill that lawmakers from both parties agreed to last June as part of the normal appropriations process. That bill included $1.6 billion in border funding — the original request by the Trump administration — and 65 miles of new border fencing.
In remarks on the Senate floor, McConnell defended the agreement, saying that "no side will view this as a perfect deal," but he said it is "something both sides should view as an important step. And today, I hope we will vote to advance it."
"When the Senate votes on the agreement, we'll be voting to avoid a second partial shutdown and provide the certainty of a fully functioning federal government," McConnell continued.
Senate Republicans had publicly urged Trump to sign the deal once it receives congressional approval. NBC News reported earlier this week that they anticipated the president would sign it.
After the Senate chaplain delivered the opening prayer on the Senate floor, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, chimed in: "I pray that the president will have wisdom to sign the bill so the government doesn't shut down."
Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby, R-Ala., who helped negotiate the deal, said he had told Trump and Vice President Mike Pence that it should be viewed as a "down payment" to fund border security.
Trump likely to take executive action to redirect funds for wall
Feb. 13, 201907:32Once the bill passes the Senate, it will be taken up by the Democratic-controlled House, where it is expected to pass.
In addition to funding the Department of Homeland Security, the bill would also fund eight other federal departments: Agriculture, Commerce, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Justice, State, Transportation and Treasury.
Notably, the agreement excludes an extension of the Violence Against Women Act, which Republicans wanted to include but Democrats insisted on passing a more comprehensive reauthorization of the program later this year.
Democrats also pushed unsuccessfully to include a provision to provide back pay for federal contractors affected by the recent shutdown, which was not included in the final version of the legislation. Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., told reporters Wednesday that Trump would not sign the measure into law if the provision were included.
