Trump vows to build border wall, warns Democrats against investigations

President Donald Trump vowed in his State of the Union speech on Tuesday to build a border wall, which is a source of a deep partisan divide, and said Democratic attempts at “ridiculous partisan investigations” could damage U.S. prosperity.

Trump spoke to a joint session of the U.S. Congress facing political discord over his demands that Democrats end their opposition to funding for a U.S.-Mexico border wall he says is needed to stem illegal immigration and smuggled drugs.

During his 82-minute speech, he outlined his political priorities without providing specific policy details.

Trump called illegal immigration “an urgent national crisis,” but stopped short of declaring a border emergency that would allow him to bypass Congress for wall funding. Instead, he urged Democrats and Republicans to find a compromise by a Feb. 15 deadline.

“In the past, most of the people in this room voted for a wall, but the proper wall never got built. I will get it built,” Trump said in the House of Representatives chamber, with his main Democratic adversary, new House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, watching over his shoulder.

Democrats call the wall a waste of money and ineffective.

During the speech, Democratic Representative Pramila Jayapal tweeted her opposition to the wall, saying: “The border is more secure than ever. Enough.”

With various Democratic-controlled House committees ramping up scrutiny of his administration and personal finances, Trump warned, without offering evidence, that efforts to investigate his administration, along with the possibility of U.S. involvement in wars abroad, would endanger the U.S. economy.

“An economic miracle is taking place in the United States and the only thing that can stop it are foolish wars, politics, or ridiculous partisan investigations,” he said.

His remarks came as Democrats who now control the House planned a series of probes into the Trump administration and a special prosecutor investigates Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election and possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Moscow. Russia denies meddling and Trump has said there was no collusion.

Apart from lauding economic accomplishments - unemployment near a five-decade low and manufacturing job growth among them - Trump’s speech was light on new initiatives to further stoke growth in an economy seen as losing momentum as it began 2019.

Financial markets were largely subdued as Trump delivered his speech. “It was pablum, without specifics,” said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment strategist at Inverness Counsel in New York.