The emergency is apparently not in such a hurry. When US President Donald Trump arrives 40 minutes late in the White House Rose Garden, he begins to talk about other things. From trade talks with China and the EU, from Syria, from its upcoming summit with North Korean ruler Kim Jong Un.
Only then does Trump devote himself to what he calls "the crisis of national security on our southern border," as he has often done before, as an "invasion of our country." Congress, as he refuses to pay for building a wall, must now go other ways.
And so he announces, as expected, the national emergency.
This option, with which he has been flirting with for weeks, is not only radical in the case of the Wall, but also controversial across party lines: the declaration of legality on paper bends all norms - and creates a historical precedent that will determine how much power is entitled to a US president.
Video: Budget dispute in the US - President in distress
AFP
Can Trump do that?
Technically yes. The National Emergencies Act does not define a "state of emergency"; the president's discretion applies: in the event of a real threat to national security, he may pass budgetary funds past the congress. This should give him room to maneuver and is not a special case: with the current order, 32 emergencies are currently in force in the USA. Many have existed for decades, mostly turning to financial measures against foreigners and international criminals. The most famous state of emergency was George W. Bush after the attacks of September 11, 2001, he also continues today.
What exactly is it?
Trump's wall began as a trick for his speechwriters: In the 2016 election campaign, they wanted to remind him with a simple slogan ("Build the wall!"), Always to talk about immigration. This then became his top election promise. Since the newly strengthened Democrats block its financing, Trump first unsuccessfully risked a "shutdown" and now swears a "crisis on the border". Local politicians deny that there are any, even the immigration statistics speak against it.
How does the emergency work?
Trump now gains access to more than $ 6 billion from hidden budget sources, including the drug seizures of several ministries and the Pentagon's military construction fund. The latter could be used "to defend the nation," said Trump's incumbent chief of staff Rick Mulvaney shortly before Trump's rose garden appearance. The $ 1.73 billion "Border Security" approved by Congress would bring together around $ 8 billion for the construction of the Wall. However, this is a falsification: said congressional funds are expressly not intended for a wall, but for other means.
What are the political consequences?
Constitutionalists fear a dangerous precedent. Jurist and TV commentator Jeffrey Toobin sees Trump's declaration of "a sign that the country is heading for an authoritarian future." If a president could trade past the congress, just to realize a pet project, he would "enormously expand" his constitutionally limited power. Even leading republicans had advised Trump against it: he pave the way for future democratic presidents, for example, to limit the popular weapon law of many voters.
Will the wall be built now?
Probably not. Congress could try to block the declaration, but it requires a nonpartisan majority. However, the Democrats and several states have already announced constitutional lawsuits anyway. These lawsuits - and the grievances of private landowners along the border - are likely to block the construction of a wall until the matter eventually lands in the Supreme Court. And even if its majority conservative judge Trump would agree: "This will not be clarified before 2020," said former Attorney General Walter Dellinger the "New York Times".
Video: When can the state of emergency be declared in the US?
THE MIRROR
So what does Trump really want?
The wall is his holiest oath to the base. Of course he knows that even the declaration of necessity will not accelerate the construction. But the conflict allows him to profile himself before his followers as a hero and make the wall a constant stimulus word. He sees in it only advantages: "We have border security as Wahlkampthema," he tweeted the other day. "2020!" But that also only pulls at its base: Two thirds of all Americans think nothing of a wall.
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How hypocritical his own arguments are, Trump once even revealed himself. In 2014, he criticized his predecessor, Barack Obama, as he forced an immigration reform by decree - and also past the congress: It does not work, Trump tweeted that Obama "undermines the US Constitution for his own benefit just because he is incapable to negotiate with Congress ".