He entered his 22nd day .. the longest government closure in America's history

US government closures have become the longest in the nation's history as it enters its 22nd day. President Donald Trump has again threatened to declare a state of emergency if Democrats insist on refusing to finance the wall on the Mexican border.

The partial suspension of the federal government, which began on December 22, exceeded 21 days recorded under President Bill Clinton in 1996.

Trump said at a meeting on border security that he did not want to declare a state of emergency now, saying he had full right to do so, but threatened to resort to the emergency declaration if Democrats insisted on refusing to vote for the funding of the wall with a budget of more than $ 5 billion.

Minutes before the Trump Declaration, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of Trump's most vocal supporters, wrote in a statement on Thursday: "Mr. President, declare a state of national emergency now."

The president's opponents say the president's unilateral move on the border issue will constitute a constitutional transgression and a dangerous precedent in similar contentious issues.

According to the constitution, the president has broad powers in the event of an emergency national crisis, enabling him to impose policies and laws called "national emergency", which in normal circumstances can not be passed either to disputes with Congress or to the existence of legal and constitutional constraints.

In the event of a state of emergency, Trump can take part of the Defense Department's budget to cover the costs of building the wall, which was a cornerstone of his campaign for the 2016 presidential election. The US border with its neighbor Mexico is 3,000 kilometers, 1,000 km of fence and barbed wire.

The wall on Mexico's border currently stretches over 1,050 kilometers, which has been completed over the past few years. Under Trump, only parts of the wall have been renovated. Last year Congress allocated $ 84 million to complete a 150-kilometer stretch, but the work has not yet been implemented.

Owing to government closures, about 800,000 government employees were forced either to work without pay or to take unpaid leave, including members of the Transportation Security Administration for Air Security, and agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Museums frequented by tourists have been forced to close, as garbage builds up in public parks in Washington DC and elsewhere.