"If Trump crosses this Rubicon, what would prevent a Democratic president from declaring a 'national emergency' on Day 1 of their administration on climate change and/or healthcare?" Chris Krueger, an analyst at strategy firm Cowen Washington Research Group, asked in a commentary note.
Senator Joe Manchin, a moderate Democrat who has had good relations with Trump, said declaring a national emergency would be "wrong, but I think that's his only way out."
Manchin predicted that if Trump made the declaration, Congress would immediately move to pass bills funding the various agencies, knowing that the president would then be able to sign them into law.
While some Republican senators have begun clamoring for an end to the shutdown, party leaders toeing Trump's line this week have ignored passage in the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives of funding bills for government agencies. The House was expected to pass more such bills on Friday.
