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PBS News Hour

Could a 'national emergency' allow Trump to build wall?

President Trump has threatened to use executive power to declare a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border and obtain funds for a border wall without approval from Congress. But would such a dramatic move be legal? William Brangham asks Elizabeth Goitein of NYU’s Brennan Center for Justice how a national emergency is defined and what powers become available after one is declared.

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