BREAKING: Trump Declares a National Emergency | Shlomo Rudman

In a Friday morning announcement in the Rose Garden, President Trump announced that he would be signing a national emergency declaration in response to the “crisis at the border”, a move which will allow him to channel money towards the building of a wall along the southern border without receiving prior approval from Congress.

Presidents got the ability to declare national emergencies in the 1970’s. Since then, 58 emergencies have been declared, with 31 of those emergencies remaining active. President Trump’s declaration marks just the third national emergency that was declared in order to unilaterally spend funds. The other two times were in 1990 prior to the Gulf War, and in 2001 following the September 11 attacks.

President Trump’s declaration will allow him to use $3.6 billion that was allocated to be used by the military to be funneled toward construction of a border wall. White House officials say that Trump will also use his executive powers to access another $3.1 billion. Congress has already allocated $1.375 billion for use in building barriers along the border wall.

The combined funds, obtained from the emergency declaration, through the use of executive powers, and from the recently passed spending bill, provide some $8 billion in funds President Trump can use to advance the building of his proposed wall. That number is far more than the $5.7 billion Trump demanded from Congress, a demand which resulted in a 35-day shutdown.

Democrats in the House have introduced legislation to block President Trump’s move, calling it an abuse of power. If such legislation passes the House and the Senate, where many Republicans have criticized the President’s use of a national emergency declaration, it would likely result in the first presidential veto of the Trump administration. Many Democrats and a handful of Republicans have warned that using a national emergency declaration for the southern border issue sets an unlawful and dangerous precedent.

It is also nearly certain that Trump’s emergency declaration will be challenged in court by Democrats and liberal groups, which may lead to a legal morass that will keep the national emergency and it’s freed-up funds in check for months or longer.

The White House says it is fully prepared for a drawn-out legal battle, and that President Trump and top officials are confident that the law is on their side. A legal battle may also be useful to President Trump’s 2020 ambitions and could be used as a political issue to energize his base.

 

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7 COMMENTS

  1. Surely a president as unstable as this one can use those 120 emergency powers to silent the press and do other damage to the republic. With this power he may be the last president of the US.

    • And he’s a liar also. This has been the lowest immigrant crossing in twenty years. There are real emergencies to take care of. I thought Mexico was paying for this “great” wall. He uses scare tactics. I don’t understand the people that believe him.

  2. The President is hardly unstable. The people who are unstable are Schiff, Schumer, and Pelosi, who have spent the last 2 years acting like spoiled little kids who didn’t get their way.

    Before President Trump, Chuck Schumer was a big supporter of building a border wall. Now, his only reason for opposing it, is because Trump wants it.

    They’re childish in the extreme. Considering what their salaries and benefits cost the American taxpayers, we deserve better leadership, than this “Clown Show” we have in Congress and the Senate.

    My family came to America to escape the Socialist/Communist political policies that have failed everywhere else, but fools like Ocasio-Cortez, Pelosi, Schumer, and Schiff continue to promote as the solutions to our problems.

    I have a better solution: if the Communists and Socialists in America are truly confident in the efficacy of their views, they should relocate to Venezuela, North Korea, and China.

    • Yechiel, you did not say one thing to prove Trump’s stability. You just went on to say how unstable the Democrats are. Like a child who says, “You say I’m stupid? Well you’re even stupider.”

  3. The fact that the Dems are acting obstructionist about the wall doesn’t change the fact. Just because you like Trump’s positions on lots of things doesn’t mean he’s the most stable around. He’s definitely “childish” and tipsy up top.

Comments are closed.