Editors at The Wall Street Journal warned Friday that Republicans could end up with regrets if President Trump Donald John TrumpHR McMaster says president's policy to withdraw troops from Afghanistan is 'unwise' Cast of 'Parks and Rec' reunite for virtual town hall to address Wisconsin voters Biden says Trump should step down over coronavirus response MORE declares a national emergency to get his funding for a border wall, warning that Democrats could then use the measure "whenever it is politically expedient."

In an editorial, the conservative newspaper's staff warned that such a decision would likely open the door to future use of national emergency declarations by Democrats, including on issues such as gun violence and climate change.

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"If Mr. Trump did win in court, a President Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth WarrenWarren, Schumer introduce plan for next president to cancel ,000 in student debt The Hill's 12:30 Report - Presented by Facebook - Don't expect a government check anytime soon No new taxes for the ultra rich — fix bad tax policy instead MORE might take the precedent as license to circumvent Congress whenever it is politically expedient," the editorial warned. "Rising carbon emissions or even income inequality could be declared national emergencies."

The newspaper went on to argue that Trump would be on sounder legal footing than his predecessor, former President Obama, was when the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program was implemented by executive order, but that the president should not use a national emergency to fulfill a "campaign promise."

"While President Trump may be on sounder legal footing than President Obama was when he legalized millions of undocumented immigrants, he would still be spending scarce military funds to essentially fulfill a campaign promise," the editorial continued.

Trump visited the border Thursday as a partial shutdown of the federal government, which stems from a dispute between the White House and Congress over border wall funding, stretched into its 21st day.

The president reiterated his demands for a wall while on the trip, hinting that he could go around Congress and declare a national emergency soon.

“I think we might work a deal, and if we don’t we might go that route,” the president said a day before, during a bill signing in the Oval Office.

“This is about the people of our country, and we have to do what’s right at our border and many other places,” he added at the time. "They say it's a medieval solution, a wall. It's true because it worked then and it works even better now."