As the partial government reaches its 21st day, matching the longest shutdown, there is still no compromise between the White House and Congressional Democrats in sight. With that as the current situation, President Trump has stated on numerous occasions that he has the legal authority to declare a “national emergency” to build a physical barrier along the Southern border.
The White House is considering several options with respect to finding funds for the wall, such as trying to use funds that had been designated to deal with other disasters, such as the California wildfires and the hurricanes along the East Coast in 2018, and using funds dedicated to military construction projects.
Even a declaration of a national emergency does not mean that the Administration would be able to build a wall quickly, or if at all. A number of Republicans have publicly cautioned against such a move. In addition, legal challenges will most likely be made to the declaration, with the outcomes uncertain at this point.
Additional information about the this fight is available here, here, and here.
While all of this is playing out politically, today is payday for those federal employees and contractors impacted by the shutdown. The furloughed workers will not be paid today. Read more about the situation impacting employees here.