What to know ahead of Trump's prime-time address on border wall

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump will argue to the nation Tuesday night that a “crisis” at the U.S.-Mexico border requires the long and invulnerable wall he’s demanding before ending a partial government shutdown that has hundreds of thousands of federal workers fearing missed paychecks on Friday.

Here is some of what you should know heading into the prime-time address.

NATIONAL EMERGENCY?

The Trump administration is at least talking about the idea of declaring a national emergency to allow Trump to move forward on the wall without Congress approving the $5.6 billion he wants.

If it does so, it won’t be the only active national emergency.

It will be the 32nd.

Dating to Nov. 14, 1979, 56 national emergencies have been declared under the National Emergencies Act. https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/07/politics/trump-wall-active-national-emergency/index.html

The United States has been under perpetual state of national emergency since 1979.

My latest for @CNN: https://t.co/tWtFdDjmds pic.twitter.com/ypbkxR5b3N

— Ryan Struyk (@ryanstruyk) January 7, 2019

It would be the fourth national emergency in Trump’s tenure. He used emergency powers to punish those who interfere in U.S. elections, human rights abusers worldwide and members of the Nicaraguan government over corruption an violent protests.

Vice President Mike Pence said Tuesday that the idea of making such a declaration in the case of the border wall remains on the table.

The move would draw legal challenges, and Trump — who told lawmakers he would be willing to keep the government closed for months or even years — has said he would like to continue negotiations for now.

DEMOCRATIC RESPONSE

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer have come to the White House for several negotiating rounds with Trump. Democratic congressional staffers also participated in weekend talks led by Pence at the White House.

Pelosi and Schumer called for equal time to respond to Trump.

Now that the television networks have decided to air the President’s address, which if his past statements are any indication will be full of malice and misinformation, Democrats must immediately be given equal airtime.

My statement with @SpeakerPelosi: pic.twitter.com/KIQPrdXEeg

— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) January 8, 2019

“Now that the television networks have decided to air the President’s address, which if his past statements are any indication will be full of malice and misinformation, Democrats must immediately be given equal airtime,” they said in a joint statement Monday night.

SHUTDOWN IMPLICATIONS

The government shutdown, now in its 18th day, is the second-longest in history and would become the longest this weekend.

Leaning on Senate Republicans, Pelosi said the House would begin passing individual bills this week to reopen federal agencies, starting with the Treasury Department to ensure Americans receive their tax refunds.

The White House said Monday that tax refunds would be paid despite the shutdown, which would break from past practice and could be challenged.

The shutdown has furloughed 380,000 federal workers and forced another 420,000 to work without pay.

GOP CRACKS?

Democrats have made clear that they object to the wall itself, not whether it’s made of steel or concrete. https://triblive.com/local/allegheny/14473919-74/trump-says-not-much-headway-in-talks-as-shutdown-drags-on

“Maybe he thinks he can bully us. But I’m from Brooklyn. You let a bully succeed, you’ll be bullied again worse,” Schumer said at a breakfast with the Association for a Better New York.

Trump has tasked Pence to negotiate with Democrats, including during weekend talks. He is also increasingly being called upon to prevent defections in the GOP ranks.

Asked wh

PAYCHECKS AT RISK

Adding to concerns of lawmakers, federal workers still on the job apparently will miss this week’s paychecks. Acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney said over the weekend that if the shutdown continues into Tuesday “then payroll will not go out as originally planned on Friday night.”

Derrick Padilla, a corrections officer with the Federal Bureau of Prisons in Colorado, said he’s nearly depleted his savings working without pay for the past two weeks.

“The bills don’t go away,” he said. “We’re expected to meet our financial obligations, and we’re being put in a position to not be able to meet those obligations.”