Senate Republicans are warning President TrumpDonald John TrumpCNN's Don Lemon explains handling of segment after Trump criticism NPR reporter after Pompeo clash: Journalists don't interview government officials to score 'political points' Lawyer says Parnas can't attend Senate trial due to ankle bracelet MORE ahead of his State of the Union speech against using a national emergency declaration to build the U.S.-Mexico border wall. 

GOP lawmakers warned that declaring a national emergency would be met with resistance on Capitol Hill, where Congress could try to block Trump by using a resolution of disapproval. 
 
Sen. John ThuneJohn Randolph ThuneGOP confident of win on witnesses Republicans signal renewed confidence they'll avoid witness fight The Hill's Morning Report - Bolton charge ups ante in witness showdown MORE (R-S.D.), the No. 2 Senate Republican, said that he and "a lot of my colleagues" have concerns about the precedent Trump would set if he declared a national emergency to construct the border wall. 
 
"There's a lot of reservations in the conference about it and I hope they don't go down that path," Thune told reporters. 
 
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Sen. John CornynJohn CornynHillicon Valley: UK allows Huawei to build 5G in blow to Trump | Lawmakers warn decision threatens intel sharing | Work on privacy bill inches forward | Facebook restricts travel to China amid virus Republicans signal renewed confidence they'll avoid witness fight Lawmakers warn US, UK intel sharing at risk after Huawei decision MORE (R-Texas), who is close to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnellAddison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellTrump allies throw jabs at Bolton over book's claims GOP confident of win on witnesses Collins Senate bid threatens to spark GOP rift in Georgia MORE (R-Ky.), told reporters that declaring a national emergency would be a "dangerous step" that likely wouldn't allow Trump to build the wall border wall because it would get bogged down in court and challenged in Congress. 
 
Congress has until Feb. 15 to get a deal on funding for the border wall and to prevent a second shutdown, which would impact roughly a quarter of the government. The president is demanding $5.7 billion for the wall; Democrats have rejected money for a concrete wall but signaled some openness to fencing or other barriers. 
 
Sen. Richard ShelbyRichard Craig ShelbySenate fails to get deal to speed up fight over impeachment rules Roberts under pressure from both sides in witness fight GOP senator on Trump soliciting foreign interference: 'Those are just statements' MORE (R-Ala.), a member of the conference committee tasked with finding a deal, told reporters that a national emergency wouldn't be his preferred route. 
 
"I wouldn't prefer one. I believe we should continue to work toward the legislative solution," he said. "I do believe that the president's probably got the power under the Constitution and maybe under the statue to do that, but I would rather us do it." 
 
Trump has refused to rule out declaring a national emergency if Congress isn't able to reach a deal on wall funding, despite public pushback from Republicans including McConnell. 
 
He hinted to reporters on Friday that they should "listen closely" to his State of the Union speech.
 
“I don't take anything off the table. I don't like to take things off the table. It's that alternative. It's national emergency, it's other things and you know there have been plenty national emergencies called,” Trump separately told CBS News's "Face the Nation" when asked if he would shut down the government. 
 
 
Democrats would likely be able to pass the resolution easily through the House and kick the fight to the Senate, where Schumer would be able to force a vote. 
 
McConnell reportedly warned Trump that a resolution blocking his emergency declaration would be able to get enough GOP votes to pass, forcing the president to issue his first veto. 
 
Sen. Susan CollinsSusan Margaret CollinsGOP confident of win on witnesses Republicans signal renewed confidence they'll avoid witness fight Trump's team rests, calls for quick end to trial MORE (R-Maine), while caveating that she doesn't know what Trump is going to, said she is "in general opposed to the president using the National Emergencies Act." 
 
"I don't think the intent was for it to be used in this kind of situation. And as a member of the Senate I'm very concerned if the president believes that he can reallocate or repurpose appropriations for which we have designated very specific purposes," she said. 
 
"It also is in my judgement of dubious constitutionality," Collins added. "So I don't really think it gets him to the goal."  
 
Sen. Mitt RomneyWillard (Mitt) Mitt RomneyGOP confident of win on witnesses Collins Senate bid threatens to spark GOP rift in Georgia Republicans signal renewed confidence they'll avoid witness fight MORE (R-Utah) told reporters that he would be studying the issue, including what it meant for the "constitutional division of power." 
 
Republicans have tried to stick closely to Trump during the months-long fight over the border wall, which remains a potent issue among the party's base. But there have been growing fractures about shutdown strategy after GOP senators became increasingly anxious during the 35-day partial funding lapse. 
 
Trump would likely have some GOP support if he declared a national emergency. 
 
Sen. John KennedyJohn Neely KennedyMORE (R-La.) has repeatedly told reporters that he doesn't think it would "be the end of Western civilization," while also saying last week that he didn't know how he would vote on an effort to block the declaration. 
 
Sen. Lindsey GrahamLindsey Olin GrahamGOP confident of win on witnesses GOP Foreign Affairs leaders join pushback against potential troop drawdown in Africa Republicans signal renewed confidence they'll avoid witness fight MORE (R-S.C.) acknowledged that Trump circumventing Congress on the wall fight divides Republicans, but urged his colleagues to line up behind the president. 

"It seems to me that he's gonna have to go it alone, but there could be a war within the Republican party over the wall," Graham said.

He added that "any Republican who denies the president the ability to act as commander in chief, you're going to create a real problem within the party." 

Tags Mitch McConnell Charles Schumer Richard Shelby Lindsey Graham Susan Collins Nancy Pelosi Donald Trump John Kennedy John Cornyn Mitt Romney John Thune National Emergencies Act National Emergency declaration U.S.-Mexico border wall Government shutdown State of the Union