Graham Says High Time for Trump to Use Emergency Powers to Build Border Wall

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The time has come for US President Donald Trump to use emergency powers to fund the construction of a wall on the US border with Mexico, Senator Lindsey Graham said in a statement.

"Time for President [Trump] to use emergency powers to build wall/barrier," Graham said via Twitter on Thursday.

Speaker Pelosi’s refusal to negotiate on Wall/Barrier funding – even if the government were to be reopened – virtually ends congressional path to fund Wall/Barrier.

Time for President @realDonaldTrump to use emergency powers to build Wall/Barrier.

I hope it works.

— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) January 10, 2019

READ MORE: Trump Says Closer to Declaring National Emergency to Enable Wall Construction

Graham noted that House of Representatives Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi refused to negotiate funding for the border wall, and said Pelosi’s move "virtually ends [the] congressional path" to provide money for the border barrier.

The US federal government has been partially shut down since December 22 over the dispute as congressional Democrats refused to approve $5.7 billion that Trump seeks to fund border security and the construction of the fence on US southern border.

On Wednesday, House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer met with Trump, but the meeting ended quickly after Trump walked out because the Democratic leaders did not compromise on funding for the border wall.