Top House Democrat Adam Schiff Adam Bennett SchiffSchiff throws cold water on impeaching Trump Schiff says Kushner, Bannon invoked ‘bogus privileges’ in testimonies before Congress The Hill's Morning Report — Shutdown Day 14: Dems return to the White House MORE (D-Calif.) on Sunday said President Trump Donald John TrumpBiden on Trump's claim former presidents wanted to build wall: 'Come on' Trump seizes on ex-NYT editor Jill Abramson's criticism of paper GOP strategist Ed Rollins refers to Ocasio-Cortez as 'the little girl' MORE "doesn't have the power" to declare a national emergency over the border.
"So that's a non-starter," the incoming House Intelligence Committee chairman told CNN's "State of the Union."
Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff says that President Trump potentially invoking emergency powers to fund the border wall is “a non-starter” #CNNSOTU https://t.co/XsTsv8ndaH pic.twitter.com/WX84Agohwd — CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) January 6, 2019
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Trump since Friday has been threatening to declare a national emergency in order to build a wall along the southern U.S. border.
"I may decide a national emergency depending on what happens over the next few days," Trump told reporters on Sunday.
Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin Richard (Dick) Joseph DurbinSenators warm to immigration deal as shutdown solution Durbin presses McConnell to take lead amid shutdown Dick Durbin: I'm running for reelection in 2020 MORE (D-Ill.) on Sunday also warned of a legal challenge if Trump bypasses Congress and declares a national emergency to have a wall built.
“I can just tell you, I don’t know what he’s basing this on, but he’s faced so many lawsuits when he ignores the law and ignores tradition and precedent and just goes forward without any concern,” Durbin said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”
“He’ll face a challenge, I’m sure, if he oversteps what the law requires when it comes to his responsibility as commander in chief,” Durbin added.
Sunday is the 16th day of the ongoing partial government shutdown, which resulted from a standoff between Trump's request for $5.7 billion to fund border security, including a wall or border barrier, and Democrats' refusal to fund a border wall.
"We have to build the wall or we have to build the barrier," Trump said Sunday. "The barrier or the wall can be of steel instead of concrete if that works better."
— Michael Burke contributed to this report, which was updated at 10:53 a.m.
United States  Donald Trump said on Friday he can and may declare a national , which he said would allow him to act without approval from Congress and allocate funding for the construction of a wall along the country's border with Mexico. The US government is currently  because the president and Congress could not agree on a national budget. The President insists that the budget include funding for the wall, which was one of his campaign promises, but Congress has not passed his proposed budget.
File photo of Donald Trump, 2011. 
Trump said on Friday "I can do it call a national emergency if I want. I may do it." Trump also said that he would prefer to agree a solution with the opposition. He also said, "I never threaten anybody." He also claimed that the wall was a crucial part of America's border security. The , Mike Pence, said on Friday the United States is "in the midst of a crisis on our southern border." Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House, said on Friday "We are committed to keeping our border safe. We can do that best when government is open. We made that clear to the president."

The , , said on Friday "We made a plea to the president once again: don't hold hundreds of thousands of federal workers hostage" and "So we told the president we needed the government open. He resisted."

  and incoming chair of the    both yesterday questioned the President's power to do as he proposed.  Schiff called it "a non-starter".  Durbin said "I can just tell you, I don't know what he's basing this on, but he's faced so many lawsuits when he ignores the law and ignores tradition and precedent and just goes forward without any concern".

President Trump claims he would be okay if the impasse over the shutdown went on for "years." This lockdown started on December 22, last year. Some museums, the , and immigration courts have shut, with some people working in still-open services without pay. The  website advises citizens to continue paying their federal taxes. Some services are still open, including medical services  and . Federal courts are relying on non-government sources, like court fees, for funding.





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CAT:Politics and conflictsCAT:Donald TrumpCAT:Nancy Pelosi