Donald Trump is set to declare a national emergency in order to unlock $8 billion in additional funds for his border wall, on top of the lowered $1.375 billion allocated in a bipartisan budget bill the president is also expected to sign.
The Late Show host Stephen Colbert unpacked the troubling situation in his opening monologue Thursday night, casually calling Trump's plan "insane."
"He claims he could get all the funding he wants for his wall if he just declared a national emergency. That, of course, would be insane," Colbert said.
"It would be usurping Congress's power, there would be immediate court challenges. Many in his own party have said it would set a terrible precedent of unconstitutional overreach by the executive branch. So I seriously doubt...I'm sorry, Mitch McConnell?"
Colbert then cut to Senate Republican leader McConnell announcing Trump's intention to both sign the bill and declare such a national emergency, mocking him with an impression.
"You can tell by the tone of my voice that the urgency which I'm informing you that this is a true national emergency," Colbert droned. "In a related matter, I see that the Senate chamber is on fire and filled with scorpions. Everybody run, run for your lives."
Topics Stephen Colbert Donald Trump Politics
