If congressional Democrats continue to refuse President Trump the $5.7 billion he demands for border wall construction, acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney said on Fox News Sunday, Trump will find the money ... somewhere.
"[W]e'll take as much money as [Congress] can give us, and then we will go off and find the money someplace else — legally — in order to secure that southern barrier. But this is going to get built with or without Congress," Mulvaney told host Chris Wallace, who pressed for more specifics as to where, exactly, the money would come from, and whether obtaining it would require Trump to declare a national emergency. The Constitution gives Congress, not the president, the power of the purse.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
5 cartoons about the Russia-Ukraine peace talksCartoons Artists take on a stand-in for Vladimir Putin and phone calls with Donald Trump.
-
Donald Trump's foreign policy flip in the Middle EastTalking Point Surprise lifting of sanctions on Syria shows Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar are now effectively 'dictating US foreign policy'
-
Crossword: May 24, 2025The Week's daily crossword puzzle
-
Tied Supreme Court blocks church charter schoolspeed read The court upheld the Oklahoma Supreme Court's decision to bar overtly religious public charter schools
-
GOP megabill would limit judicial oversight of Trumpspeed read The domestic policy bill Republicans pushed through the House would protect the Trump administration from the consequences of violating court orders
-
Judge scolds DOJ over Newark mayor arrestspeed read Ras Baraka was arrested during a May 9 surprise visit to a migrant detention facility
-
Trump lectures South Africa president on 'white genocide'speed read Trump has cut off aid to South Africa over his demonstrably false genocide claims
-
Trump twists House GOP arms on megabillspeed read The bill will provide a $350 billion boost to military and anti-immigration spending and 'cuts to Medicaid, food stamps and green energy programs'
-
Trump DOJ said to pay $5M to family of Jan. 6 rioterspeed read The US will pay a hefty sum to the family of Capitol rioter Ashli Babbitt, who was fatally shot on January 6
-
Trump DOJ charging House Democrat in ICE fracasspeed read Rep. LaMonica McIver is being charged with assault over a clash outside an immigration detention facility in Newark
-
Biden diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancerspeed read The diagnosis hits close to home, as the former president 'dedicated much of his later career to cancer research'
