A source close to President Trump tells me that he thinks a declaration of a national emergency at the border — which Trump stopped short of last night — remains the most likely ultimate option, because of the latitude it gives the president.
Yes, but: Conservatives, including sources in the conservative legal orbit surrounding Trump, don’t like what they view as an abuse of this authority.
Meanwhile, the White House Office of Management and Budget has been exploring other creative ways to get Trump his wall money without having to go through Congress, according to a source close to Russ Vought, a top OMB official.
- OMB, at Trump's behest, is exploring whether he can tap Pentagon resources to fund the wall without going to Congress, the source said.
- The Pentagon option is one of a couple of possibilities being seriously contemplated, per the source.
- Any such move, of course, would face political headwinds, given that even the most obscure pots of federal money have members of Congress jealously guarding them.
Privately, President Trump "dismissed his own new strategy as pointless," the NY Times' Peter Baker reports and I've confirmed:
- "In an off-the-record lunch with television anchors hours before the address, he made clear in blunt terms that he was not inclined to give the speech or go to Texas [for a border visit tomorrow], but was talked into it by advisers."
"It’s not going to change a damn thing, but I’m still doing it," Trump said.
- "The trip was merely a photo opportunity, he said. 'But,' he added, gesturing at his communications aides Bill Shine, Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Kellyanne Conway, 'these people behind you say it’s worth it.'"
P.S. The NY Times' Maggie Haberman, post-gaming on CNN: "It's just not a natural setting for him, and we didn't hear a whole lot new."
- "We certainly heard a whole lot — although less than usual — things that were not true. They are still talking past each other, these two sides."
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