Following the longest government shutdown in history, Trump is still looking for ways to secure funding to build a border wall. His demands for $5.7 billion are unlikely to be met, especially now that Democrats control Congress, but he is not giving up on what was one of his main campaign pledges. There is talk that the former reality television star is considering declaring a national emergency to deal with this imagined threat.
If an emergency is called, it would be an extraordinary abuse of his power and could change the way things are done in the future. For example, a Democrat might declare an emergency to ensure that every human being in the US has access to healthcare. Yesterday, initial jobless claims came in at 253,000 which was a significant increase from the previous reading. The aforementioned shutdown was bound to have an impact sooner or later and it looks as if it has started.
Today we will see non-farm payrolls, as well as average earnings and manufacturing PMI.
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