President Trump on Friday sure didn't make his national emergency declaration sound like much of an emergency.
After announcing he would declare a national emergency and redirect federal funds for the border, Trump suggested he's doing so because it's the "faster" option.
"I could do the wall over a longer period of time," he said. "I didn't need to do this. But I would rather do it much faster."
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These comments will almost certainly come up during any potential legal challenges to Trump's declaration, with Omar Jadwat, the director of the ACLU Immigrants' Rights Project, tweeting in response, "keep talking Mr. President." Former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance called Trump's comment "a gift to all the lawyers preparing to sue him."
Trump himself predicted a legal battle, saying "we will then be sued" but will "hopefully" get a "fair shake" in the Supreme Court. Watch Trump's comments below. Brendan Morrow
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Senate votes to kill Trump’s Brazil tariffSpeed Read Five Senate Republicans joined the Democrats in rebuking Trump’s import tax
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Border Patrol gets scrutiny in court, gains power in ICESpeed Read Half of the new ICE directors are reportedly from DHS’s more aggressive Customs and Border Protection branch
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Shutdown stalemate nears key pain pointsSpeed Read A federal employee union called for the Democrats to to stand down four weeks into the government standoff
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Trump vows new tariffs on Canada over Reagan adspeed read The ad that offended the president has Ronald Reagan explaining why import taxes hurt the economy
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NY attorney general asks public for ICE raid footageSpeed Read Rep. Dan Goldman claims ICE wrongly detained four US citizens in the Canal Street raid and held them for a whole day without charges
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Trump’s huge ballroom to replace razed East WingSpeed Read The White House’s east wing is being torn down amid ballroom construction
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Trump expands boat strikes to Pacific, killing 5 moreSpeed Read The US military destroyed two more alleged drug smuggling boats in international waters
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Trump demands millions from his administrationSpeed Read The president has requested $230 million in compensation from the Justice Department for previous federal investigations
