SALT LAKE CITY — Sen. Mike Lee says it appears President Donald Trump acted within the law when he declared a national emergency at the southern border Friday.

"My initial assessment is that what President Trump announced is legal,” the Utah Republican said. "Whether or not it should be legal is a different matter."

Lee has long sought to return power to Congress that he believes the executive branch has wrongly taken from lawmakers.

"Congress has been ceding far too much power to the executive branch for decades," he said. "We should use this moment as an opportunity to start taking that power back."

Trump declared a national emergency to get more federal money for his long-promised wall at the U.S.-Mexico border, relying on a broad interpretation of his powers that could trigger legal challenges.

Rep. Ben McAdams, D-Utah, said he opposes the president's actions.

"Republicans and Democrats came together for a bipartisan compromise to keep the government open and fund border security. The declaration is an extreme action that sets a dangerous precedent by the president," he tweeted.

Other members of Utah's congressional delegation also expressed concern over the precedent it would set. Rep. Chris Stewart, R-Utah, said Trump is making a mistake in declaring a national emergency.

Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, said earlier in the week that he doesn't believe it's the right approach and that he would expect Trump stay within the law, but that he would continue to evaluate it.

"This is a serious and complex issue that requires careful review, and he’ll be studying this in depth in the coming days and weeks," Romney spokeswoman Liz Johnson said Friday.

Trump signed the spending bill Congress passed Thursday that included $1.7 billion for a border wall, far short of the $5.7 billion he insisted he needed.

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Trump declares national emergency to get $8 billion for wall

Defiant in the wake of a stinging budget defeat, President Donald Trump on Friday declared a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border, moving to secure more money for his long-promised wall by exercising a broad interpretation of his presidential powers that is certain to draw stiff legal challenges.

To bridge the gap, Trump announced that he will be spending about $8 billion on border barriers — combining the money Congress approved with funding he plans to repurpose through executive actions, including declaring the national emergency, according to the Associated Press.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., condemned Trump's move in a joint statement.

"The president’s actions clearly violate the Congress’s exclusive power of the purse, which our Founders enshrined in the Constitution,” they said. “The Congress will defend our constitutional authorities in the Congress, in the courts, and in the public, using every remedy available."

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