Trump will ‘protect’ his national emergency declaration: White House advisor

Washington: US President Donald Trump will veto any effort by the Congress to annul his declaration of national emergency and will defend his announcement, said senior White House adviser Stephen Miller on Sunday.
In an interview to ‘Fox News Sunday’, Miller said that “substantial portions” of Trump’s barricade along the US-Mexico border will be completed by September 2020, just two months before the presidential elections.
“You’re going to see probably a couple hundred miles (of wall) in time, I would say, by the end of the next appropriation cycle. All together in terms of what we already have underway, what’s underway right now, and then what we’re going to complete,” he said.
A senior administration official said that the White House is mulling to move USD 8 billion in currently appropriated or available funds towards the construction of the wall. Out of the proposed amount, around USD 3 billion could be diverted help from the emergency declaration, according to Fox News.
On Friday, a defiant Trump declared a national emergency to bypass Congress and fulfill his long-pending demand of building the wall along the border with Mexico. Defending his move, the US President asserted that he had “no choice” but to use his emergency powers to stop illegal immigrants spreading crime and drugs.
Acknowledging that his move could be challenged legally, Trump remarked that his decision would eventually prevail. He said that he could wait for a “long time” to build his long-called barrier, but added that he wanted to move “faster” in this regard.