Government shutdown - live: Trump preparing national emergency order to end standoff as Roger Stone arrested
The White House is reportedly preparing a draft emergency declaration that would allow Donald Trump to circumvent Congress if lawmakers do not fund his southern border wall.
Trump administration officials have identified $7 million in potential funds to pay for the wall without congressional approval, according to CNN.
The move comes as the former Trump campaign adviser Roger Stone is arrested by the FBI as part of the special counsel’s investigation into possible campaign links to Russia.
The US Senate is still searching for a way to end a government shutdown entering its 35th day on Friday. Thousands of federal workers miss a second paycheck today.
Roger Stone Jr, the US president’s former adviser, has been arrested as part of the special counsel's investigation into the Trump campaign and its links to Russia.
Sarah Huckabee is live on CNN defending Donald Trump and attempting to separate the president from Roger Stone’s arrest, saying “this has nothing to do with the president” on multiple occasions.
Some interesting analysis from FiveThirtyEight that suggests the most noticeable group of people turning against Trump over the shutdown are the politically independent.
There’s been a seven-point poll increase in the share of independents who blame the president for the standoff.
More details from the grand jury indictment used to arrest Roger Stone this morning. Robert Mueller’s prosecutors claim Stone urged a friend to lie to Congress, citing a character from The Godfather Part II.
If Trump does get funding for his US-Mexico wall, its construction could have a huge impact on wildlife along the border.
More than 1,500 native animal and plant species would be affected by the wall, according to a group of eminent scientists – including 62 listed as endangered or vulnerable.
CNN captured footage of Roger Stone’s arrest at his home in Fort Lauderdale around 6am this morning. Around a half dozen law enforcement vehicles pulled up in front of the house before FBI officials banged the door and told Stone they had a warrant for his arrest.
As the shutdown enters its 35th day, tempers are getting seriously frayed. In an angry speech on the Senate floor, Colorado Democrat Michael Bennet accused his Republican colleague Ted Cruz of crying “crocodile tears” over the closure.
“When the Senator from Texas shut this government down in 2013 my state was flooded. It was underwater. People were killed! People’s houses were destroyed!”
Michael Bennet's comments came as the US Senate has rejected two bills to end the government shutdown, leaving no end in sight to the record-breaking closure of federal agencies
More on this morning’s bombshell news: the FBI arrest of Roger Stone in connection with the Russia investigation.
The grand jury indictment brought by special counsel Robert Mueller lays out in detail Mr Stone’s conversations about the Democratic party emails posted by WikiLeaks in the weeks before the 2016 election. Stone will appear in court in Florida later today.
Donald Trump's former adviser Roger Stone has been arrested as part of the special counsel's investigation into the Trump campaign and its links to Russia.
Alongside the government shutdown and news of Roger Stone’s arrest, the president is also handling a growing dispute with Venezuelan president Nicholas Maduro.
Trump has ratcheted up the rhetoric, claiming that “all options are on the table” after his administration said it recognised opposition politician Juan Guaido as the country’s president. The US is also seeking to divert crucial oil money from Maduro’s government.
A growing number of colleges are postponing tuition payments and offering emergency grants to students whose finances have been tied up by the shutdown, according to the Associated Press.
In New York, Connecticut and Nevada, the state-wide college systems have agreed to delay payments for students who are federal employees or rely on family members in federal jobs. At least 20 other schools have made similar offers as they scramble to keep students from dropping out amid the financial pinch.
At Wayne State University in Detroit, students affected by the shutdown are eligible for grants of up to $1,500 and can enter tuition plans with no upfront payments and no interest.
A reminder that Trump has suggested any federal employees struggling for food during the shutdown can “work along” with their grocery store to get credit.
The former Trump campaign adviser Roger Stone has been arrested by the FBI.
The bureau has charged Stone on seven counts, including one of obstruction of an official proceeding, five counts of false statements and one of witness tampering.
Donald Trump's former adviser Roger Stone has been arrested as part of the special counsel's investigation into the Trump campaign and its links to Russia.
The latest CNN story suggests the White House is drawing up a draft national emergency declaration that would allow Trump to circumvent Congress on his border wall.
Asked about the report, a White House official said: “Nothing is off the table, but we still believe the best path forward is working with Congress on a solution to the humanitarian and national security crisis at the southern border.”
An emergency declaration would almost certainly be swiftly challenged on constitutional grounds by the Democrats.
Good morning and welcome to The Independent's live coverage of the 35th day of the US federal government shutdown.
The White House and Congress are still deadlocked over funding for Donald Trump’s southern border wall.
On Thursday, a bill backed by Mr Trump to end the shutdown by including $5.7 billion he wants for the wall and a separate bill supported by Democrats to reopen shuttered agencies without such funding did not get the votes required to advance in the Senate.
The president said on Thursday that if Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer reached an agreement to end the shutdown, he would support it.
The president also said, however, that a deal was “not going to work” unless it included “a wall or a barrier.” He said one suggestion was “a pro-rated down payment for the wall.”
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