Washington: The White House on Thursday said that the US President Donald Trump is all set to sign a bipartisan bill on spending and border security to avoid another government shutdown. However, he has also declared a National Emergency in order to obtain funds for his long promised border wall. "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" said the White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders in a statement."The President is once again delivering on his promise to build the wall, protect the border, and secure our great country", she said.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell broke the news of Trump's plan. He made the announcement on the Senate floor and said that the Senate will soon vote on the bill which is very much necessary to avoid a partial federal shutdown on Friday. "I indicated I'm going to support the national emergency declaration", said McConnell.
The bipartisan bill will help the federal government keep running through the fiscal year but does not provide the 5.7 billion U.S. dollars which Trump wanted for the border wall with Mexico. The House of Representatives is also expected to vote on the legislation later this Thursday. A national emergency declaration which would allow the president to bypass Congress and use the military to build the wall, is widely expected to spark lawsuits and hence challenging the President's authority.
Local media on Tuesday, quoting congressional sources said that the bill would include 1.375 billion dollars for physical barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border. Trump had demanded 5.7 billion dollars in funding for the border wall which was his signature campaign promise.