Sen. John Kennedy said Tuesday it wouldn't be his first choice for President Donald Trump to declare a national emergency at the border as a result of the impasse over wall funding, but he'd still support the move if it happens.
"I don't think the world will spin off its axis," the Louisiana Republican told CNN's "New Day." "His office has smart lawyers. My guess is they have researched it. I think the president probably does have the authority."
The senator said he agrees with Trump that there is an emergency at the border, as there are "500,000 people at least ― we really don't know how many ― coming into our country without us knowing who they are."
Kennedy also spoke about Trump's upcoming State of the Union address, saying he'd advise the president to speak from the heart.
"If he has something new to say on border security and immigration, I hope he talks about that," said Kennedy. "We have to get that issue behind us. You know how I feel about it. There are two issues on which we can all work. One is infrastructure. I'd like to see him talk about that."
There is also common ground on the cost of healthcare, said Kennedy.
"If we don't do something about the cost of health insurance in this country, the voters are going to go medieval on us and they should," he said.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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