A private meeting that wasn’t on Donald Trump’s schedule was revealed by The Washington Post. Last Tuesday, Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell came to the White House to counsel President Trump against declaring an emergency to build the border wall. McConnell told Trump the move could “trigger political blowback and divide the GOP.”
“McConnell (R-Ky.) told Trump that Congress might end up passing a resolution disapproving the emergency declaration, the people said — which would force the president to contemplate issuing his first veto ever, in the face of opposition from his own party.
“McConnell delivered the message during a face-to-face meeting with the president Tuesday at the White House, according to the Republicans, who requested anonymity to describe the encounter. The two men met alone and conversed with no aides present. Their meeting was not publicly announced.”
In the meantime, Trump signaled to reporters that an emergency declaration could be coming in Tuesday’s State of the Union address. From CBS News:
President Trump signaled he could declare a national emergency in order to find funding for a southern border wall, and that declaration could come as soon as next week. Asked by reporters during a human trafficking event whether he was prepared to make that announcement at the State of the Union address Tuesday, Mr. Trump said, “I’m saying, listen closely to the State of the Union. I think you’ll find it very exciting.”
Unless an agreement is reached, funding for the government runs out again on February 15.
