Trump used his veto pen for the first time Friday

Hoping to stave off an embarrassing rebuke of President Donald Trump, Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Ted Cruz of Texas and Ben Sasse of Nebraska decided to show up virtually unannounced to make a last-ditch effort Wednesday night to strike a bargain

...delivering a bipartisan rebuke to what lawmakers in both parties deemed executive overreach

...with just 13 Republicans joining Democrats to try to block his effort to divert funding to a border wall without congressional approval.

"I'll look like an idiot--but if the fate of humanity is at stake, I have no choice!"

Senate Republicans expressed deep skepticism about Trump’s emergency declaration at a closed-door meeting with the vice president.

...raising the possibility that the President could be forced to issue the first veto of his tenure on what is widely seen as his biggest campaign promise

...suggesting that those who do so have fallen into a trap set by Democrats.

In a 13-page joint statement by various diplomats, intelligence chiefs, Cabinet secretaries and senior government personnel from previous administrations, the former civil servants said they “are aware of no emergency that remotely justifies” Trump’s invocation of emergency powers

...setting up votes in Congress to rebuke the President's proclamation.

...arguing that the president’s decision to declare a national emergency is unconstitutional.

All of the broadcast and cable news networks carried the declaration and press conference that followed, with only CBS deciding to cut away after 21 minutes before the event was complete.

Trump’s national emergency declaration to build a southern border wall will be met with fierce Democratic opposition, both legally and in Congress

Others have pointed out that declaring a random emergency and overriding the legislature whenever it’s convenient is a hallmark of dictatorships around the world.

The pitfalls of a plan for Trump to shift federal dollars without an emergency declaration are coming into clearer view.

“...but we will rue the day when we let a president start taking money for one purpose, declaring an emergency and using it for another,”

By waiting for Congress to act, the president is undermining the legal basis for any declaration.

The documents also reflect a sense of urgency with administration plans, noting that environmental reviews can be skipped and DHS can use waivers to bypass contracting laws.

After days of stoking fears about a “crisis” to get his border wall built, Trump has changed his mind.

He can’t explain what he’s trying to do or why

Acosta [...] said in his video that he did not "see anything resembling a national emergency situation."

White House officials considered diverting emergency aid from storm- and fire-ravaged Puerto Rico, Florida, Texas and California to build a border barrier, perhaps under an emergency declaration.

"Meesa propose that the senate give immediately emergency powers to the supreme chancellor"

Asked if he would make such a declaration, an action that would likely face legal challenges, Mr. Trump said: “If this doesn’t work out, probably I will do it. I would almost say definitely.”

While the “crisis” at the border is largely manufactured by Trump, the powers he could use to declare a state of emergency to get a border wall built really do exist.

...the vice president argued that it shouldn't undermine the administration's credibility in the eyes of the American public.

"We're looking at a national emergency because we have a national emergency -- just read the papers"

...options could include reprogramming funds from the Department of Defense and elsewhere – a move which would circumvent Congress.