YEREVAN, JANUARY 11, ARMENPRESS. The Trump administration has commenced the groundwork for declaring a national emergency in the United States in order for the government to be able to build the wall at the border with Mexico, The Washington Post reported citing sources familiar with the matter.

If the White House indeed declares the emergency, the move will likely pave the way for ending the three-week government shutdown.

According to sources of The Washington Post, the Trump administration wants to utilize unused money from the budget of the Army Corps of Engineers, particularly a disaster spending bill that was passed by Congress in 2018.

U.S. President Donald Trump has called on the Army Corps to determine how fast conracts could be signed and whether or not the construction could commence within 45 days, an anonymous source told The Washington Post.

Trump walked out of a White House negotiations meeting with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi earlier, who refused to pay for the wall. The president then reiterated that he might declare a national emergency if Democrats don’t give him what he wants.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan