Government shutdown - live: Trump preparing national emergency order to end standoff as Roger Stone arrested
The White House is reportedly preparing a draft emergency declaration that would allow Donald Trump to circumvent Congress if lawmakers do not fund his southern border wall.
Trump administration officials have identified $7 million in potential funds to pay for the wall without congressional approval, according to CNN.
The move comes as the former Trump campaign adviser Roger Stone is arrested by the FBI as part of the special counsel’s investigation into possible campaign links to Russia.
The US Senate is still searching for a way to end a government shutdown entering its 35th day on Friday. Thousands of federal workers miss a second paycheck today.
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On Thursday, a bill backed by Mr Trump to end the shutdown by including $5.7 billion he wants for the wall and a separate bill supported by Democrats to reopen shuttered agencies without such funding did not get the votes required to advance in the Senate.
The president said on Thursday that if Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer reached an agreement to end the shutdown, he would support it.
The president also said, however, that a deal was “not going to work” unless it included “a wall or a barrier.” He said one suggestion was “a pro-rated down payment for the wall.”
