Trump declaring state of emergency over border wall could spark ‘war’ in Republican party, Lindsey Graham says

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Donald Trump declaring a state of emergency to fund a wall on the US-Mexico border could trigger a “war” in the Republican party, a senator and close ally of the US president has said.

Lindsey Graham, senior senator for South Carolina, on Monday urged fellow GOP members to back the “commander-in-chief” over possible plans to bypass Congress if it fails to reach a deal giving Mr Trump the $5.7bn (£4.38bn) he wants for the wall.

“I’m not very optimistic we’re going to get a deal. It seems to me that he’s going to have to go it alone” by declaring an emergency, Mr Graham said. “But there could be a war within the Republican Party over the wall.”

Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell is reported to have told Mr Trump some Republicans in the chamber may join Democrats to pass a resolution blocking any emergency declaration, although the president would have the power of veto.

“Any Republican who denies the president the ability to act as commander-in-chief, you’re going to create a real problem within the party,” Mr Graham told reporters in Greenville, South Carolina.

The senator said the fate of the border would be the “defining moment” of Mr Trump’s presidency. Mr Trump campaigned on the issue in 2016, repeatedly promising Mexico would pay for the wall.

“It is important that we stand behind President Trump as commander-in-chief to secure a broken border,” Mr Graham said.

“I’ll be really disappointed if my Senate colleagues do not understand that the president has the right to do this and the responsibility to do this,” he said.

Disagreement over border wall funding led to a 35-day partial government shutdown in December and January which ended after Mr Trump agreed to fund the government for three weeks while lawmakers try to reach a deal that would satisfy his demands.

Democrats, who have a majority in the House of Representatives, are opposed to funding a wall.

Failure to achieve an agreement by 15 February could shut the government down again. Under the constitution, Congress holds the national purse strings and approves major expenditures of taxpayer funds.

Mr Trump has said there is a “good chance” he will have to declare a national emergency, which would allow him to circumvent Congress and repurpose funds appropriated for other purposes in order to build the wall.

Any emergency declaration, however, would likely be challenged in court by Democrats.

Additional reporting by Reuters