What to Know About the President’s Power to Declare a National Emergency

A government shutdown that lasted 35 days did not get U.S. President Donald Trump the $5.7 billion he wants for a wall on the Mexico border. In the wake of a deal that re-opened the government temporarily, White House aides said that if Democrats wouldn’t support a wall Trump might bypass Congress entirely by declaring a national emergency. When congressional negotiators reached a compromise longer-term deal that also didn’t give him the wall money he wanted, Trump said that he would sign the bill but accompany it with an emergency declaration. It’s an idea that’s drawn opposition from some Republicans as well as Democrats.

It’s a declaration by the president that gives him special, temporary power to deal with a crisis. In the past, most such invocations have been related to foreign policy, like prosecuting a war or responding to a global trade threat. International concerns explain most of the 28 currently active national emergencies. On a few occasions, however, presidents have used emergency declarations to further their domestic policy goals.