WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump says he will declare a national emergency to build his U.S.-Mexico border wall if there is no deal with Congress by mid-February.
Trump agreed Friday to end a partial government shutdown and reopen shuttered agencies for three weeks so both sides can continue negotiating over Trump's demand for billions of dollars to build his long-promised wall.
Asked how confident he was of reaching a deal by the Feb. 15 deadline, Trump said, "If we can't do that then ... obviously we're going to do the emergency."
Declaring a national emergency would allow Trump to bypass Congress and use existing money to start building the wall.
Trump previously floated the idea of declaring a national emergency. But he held off, saying he wanted to pursue a deal with Congress.
