National Emergency Definition, Powers and Examples

In United States government, a national emergency is any extraordinary situation deemed by the President of the United States to threaten the health or safety of the citizens and which cannot be adequately addressed by the application of other laws orexecutive actions.

Exactly what situations do or do not constitute a state of emergency came into question in January 2019, when President Donald Trump stated that he might declare a national emergency in order to divert existing Department of Defense funds for the completion of a concrete wall (or steel barrier) intended to prevent illegal immigration along the entire southern U.S. border—a maneuver used by President Ronald Reaganin 1982 to boost construction of military facilities.
Key Takeaways

A national emergency is any extraordinary situation declared by the president as threatening American citizens and not resolvable by other laws.

Under the National Emergencies Act of 1976, a declaration of national emergency temporarily grants the president at least 140 special powers.

The reasons for declaring a national emergency and the provisions to be applied during that emergency are solely and entirely up to the president.

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