White House officials tell donors national security declaration is still on the table
In a call with GOP donors and surrogates Tuesday night, White House officials said President Donald Trump is still considering whether to declare a national emergency on the southern border if congressional Democrats stand firm in their refusal to fund his border wall.
Asked by one participant if the controversial move was still on the table, Director of Strategic Communications Mercedes Schlapp said "we have been working with the White House counsel to look into that," however, "our primary goal right now is to get this government re-opened and secure our border."
NBC News listened to an audio recording of the call — held shortly after Trump’s address to the nation — obtained through a participant.
The president has said he could declare a national emergency in order to build his long-promised border wall, but it's not immediately clear that he legally has that authority.
During the call, Schlapp praised the president for showing “incredible leadership in speaking to the American people” from the Oval Office. Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders also briefly joined the call, praising Trump and saying that he did “a spectacular job, particularly when you put that in contrast to Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi. I think we all saw why he’s president and they’re not tonight and thank God for it.”
Schlapp assessed that “Democrats made a huge mistake” calling the border situation a manufactured crisis, adding that “clearly the facts are on our side” on the issue. She maintained that the White House offered "common sense" solutions to both the border and shutdown situations.
Regarding the workers impacted by the government shutdown, Schlapp advised: “federal workers are caught in the middle of this, but they will be getting backpay. However, [the slain California officer’s wife] will never get her husband back.”
As far as the president's border trip on Thursday, callers were told that Trump would walk a piece of the border, as well as participate in a round table with some leaders and law enforcement. He may also meet with families impacted by violence by illegal immigrants, the administration official said.