Donald Trump 'not in a rush' to declare emergency in border wall fight

His statement comes as hundreds of thousands of federal employees missed their first paycheck due to the shutdown

epa07276203 US President Donald J. Trump (2-L) participates in a roundtable discussion on border security and safe communities with State, local and community leaders in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC, USA 11 January 2019. Picture with Trump are among others Chester County Sheriff Carolyn Bunny Welsh (L) and Jackson County Sheriff AJ Louderback (3-L). Te partial government shutdown, which is tied for the longest in US history, has affected about 800,000 federal workers.  EPA/SHAWN THEW
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President Donald Trump said on Friday he would not declare a national emergency for now as a way of securing funds for a border wall and ending a partial government shutdown, adding that he would rather see the US Congress act.

"We want Congress to do its job," Mr Trump said during a White House event on border security, adding that Democratic lawmakers "should come back and vote."

"What we're not looking to do right now is national emergency," the Republican president said.

Parts of the US government shut down on December 22 after funding expired as Trump and congressional Democrats quarrelled over the his demand for money to build a wall along the US-Mexico border.

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Trump repeated his view that he had the right to declare a national emergency to divert funds appropriated for other purposes but said, "I'm not going to do it so fast."

He also reiterated that he was open to considering a major immigration reform but that he would only do so after he obtained funding for the wall.