Trump's Emergency Declaration

Washington: President Donald Trump declared a national emergency Friday to fulfill his pledge to construct a wall along the US-Mexico border.

Bypassing Congress, which approved far less money for his proposed wall than he had sought, Trump said he will use executive action to siphon billions of dollars from federal military construction and counterdrug efforts for the wall, aides said.

The move drew immediate bipartisan criticism on Capitol Hill and is expected to face rounds of legal challenges.

There is a law that Congress passed back in 1976 that sets out how a president can declare a national emergency, and how Congress can end that national emergency by legislation.

The law doesn't set many limits on how a president can declare a national emergency, or for what reason. The president just has to do it publicly and then periodically report back to Congress about the ongoing emergency.

(With inputs from APTN)