Looks like Sens. Martha McSally and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema are about to be forced to take an actual position on the “national emergency” that we are told exists down at the border.

Or inside the Oval Office, depending upon your point of view.

Since President Donald Trump’s Feb. 15 emergency declaration, Arizona’s senators have boldly stood up and issued eloquent statements ….

… that say absolutely nothing.

McSally declared that she is studying the president’s executive action.

“Earlier this week I supported the spending measure that supplied $22.5 billion for border security. That was a good start, but more resources are needed to support our border patrol, which includes physical barriers and technology," McSally said. "I support the President’s goal, which is to further fund border security. I will continue to study the emergency declaration and additional funding proposal to ensure it increases border security while not adversely impacting our military.”

Sinema has been a little clearer, though she still has fallen short of outright taking a position on Trump's emergency declaration.

“I think its appropriate if the president wants to ask Congress to continue to appropriate additional dollars and it is our job to consider those requests, but it is Congress’ job to make those decisions about appropriating dollars,” Sinema told KTAR's Mac and Gaydos this week.

“My opinion is that it is Congress’ job to continue that work. We are responsible for appropriating the dollars and directing them to the types of border security measures that we believe…is appropriate to create full border security.”

Now with Democrats planning to try to block Trump's emergency declaration next week, our border state senators may actually have to take a decisive stand on Trump's emergency.

It won’t be so bad for Sinema, who campaigned as a moderate senator not beholden to the Democratic Party. She’s got the job for six years.

But it’s a hot potato for McSally, who lost last year’s election to Sinema because moderate voters who were turned off by her slavish devotion to all things Trump.

McSally, who was subsequently appointed to fill Sen. John McCain's seat, has to win over those moderates in 2020 if she wants to stay in the Senate. And she has to do it without losing the party’s conservative base.

Does she stand with the president, believing that this "emergency" at the border is so dire that he has unilateral authority to bypass Congress and divert military funding to build a border wall?

Knowing that arrests for illegal border crossings are actually at the lowest level in decades?

Knowing that the real crisis is the influx of illegal drugs coming across our border at legal points of entry?

Knowing that residents of border towns are scratching their heads when they hear Trump speak of the many dangers they face living there on the front lines?

Knowing that all these scare tactics are more about a presidential ego re-election campaign than any real crisis?

Does she support the president’s emergency, knowing that the next time a Democrat is president he (or she) may invoke that same power to grab guns? Or avert global warming?

Or does she use this opportunity to carve out a position as a moderate who believes in border fencing but also believes in the concept of checks and balances?

One who believes that Congress is actually partner in steering this listing ship of state?

Or maybe she calls in sick that day?

Reach Roberts at laurie.roberts@arizonarepublic.com.