Trump says he will declare an emergency if he doesn't reach a border deal

President Donald Trump said on Friday he would declare a national emergency if he doesn’t eventually reach a deal with Democrats on border security.

Trump, who made the comments to reporters during an immigration event at the White House, said earlier on Friday he had reached a deal with lawmakers to reopen the government until Feb. 15 while they work on Trump’s demand for funding for a wall on the U.S. border with Mexico.

Declaring an emergency could allow Trump to circumvent Congress and repurpose funds Congress has appropriated for other purposes in order to build a wall.

(Reporting by Steve Holland; Writing by Eric Beech; Editing by Tim Ahmann)