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The White House has said the president's trip to Texas, part of his PR blitz for a border wall, was designed to allow him to meet with those individuals who are \"on the front lines\" of what they have called a \"national security and humanitarian crisis.\"

He also made his way to the Rio Grande, the winding river separating the U.S. and Mexico.

\"PHOTO:
Olivier Douliery/Getty Images
PHOTO: President Donald Trump talks to the press, as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell looks on, after the Republican luncheon at the U.S. Capitol, Jan. 9, 2019, in Washington, DC.
>

Whether the president has the legal authority to build a wall by declaring a national emergency -- in which he would circumvent Congress to get military funding for the project -- was under review by White House lawyers, but Trump said he had the power to do so.

\"The lawyers have so advised me,\" Trump said. \"I'm not prepared to do that yet, but if I have to, I will. I have no doubt about it, I will. I have the absolute right to declare,\" Trump said. Later, he added he has a \"tremendous\" amount of funds available if he chooses that route.

Pelosi refused to tip her hand regarding how the House may react if Trump declares a national emergency to build the wall without congressional approval, but she expressed doubt that congressional Republicans would be satisfied if the president took executive action to circumvent Congress.

“If and when the president does that, you will find out how we will react. But I’m not going to that place now. But I think the president will have problems on his own side of the aisle for exploiting the situation in a way that enhances his power. But not to go there. Let’s see what he does,” she said. “Right now there’s a path. Open up government. Let’s have this discussion on where we can agree on the best ways to protect our borders, to secure our borders, to do so in a way that honors our values.”

Should the president go forward with the move, it would almost certainly be challenged in court.

“I don’t think he really wants a solution,” Pelosi stressed. “I think he loves the distraction that this is from his other problems and that’s most unfortunate. It’s a luxury our country can’t afford under any circumstance. It’s certainly a luxury we can’t afford when he has shut down government, takes pride in it, and says months or years. That’s not the action of a responsible president of the United States.”

The White House has struggled to make the case that there is, in fact, a crisis at the border, with the number of illegal apprehensions trending downward over the last two decades. But the administration points to an uptick of illegal border crossing apprehensions in recent months as evidence.

ABC News' Meridith McGraw and John Parkinson contributed to this report.

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