Emergency declaration option for wall tests GOP
Trump is digging in on potentially declaring a national emergency to construct the U.S.-Mexico border wall, a move that would set up a clash with Republicans on Capitol Hill.
Declaring migration at the southern border a national emergency may be Trump’s best option for a quick off-ramp to end the partial shutdown, which is now in its 20th day with little to no progress toward a negotiated agreement.
The president and White House officials aren’t ruling out taking the controversial step as they search for an exit strategy. Trump raised the possibility several times on Wednesday, at one point saying he “may” make an emergency declaration if he can’t get a deal with congressional Democrats who participated in a third White House meeting.
“I may do that at some point,” Trump told reporters after a closed-door meeting with Senate Republicans.
He added that he might do so if Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) “don’t agree to the fact that our country has really got problems with crime, with drugs, with a lot of other things that come through our southern border.”
An agreement between Trump and Democrats appeared to move further away after Wednesday’s brief White House meeting, which the president blasted as a “waste of time.”
Republican senators are wary of crossing Trump on major issues like the border, where the party’s base is pressuring Trump not to cave, and many have stopped short of flatly opposing using an emergency declaration or issuing ultimatums to the president.
But leapfrogging Congress by declaring a national emergency would fly directly in the face of public warnings from Republican lawmakers, including some of the president’s traditional allies in Congress. Several are making clear they would prefer to resolve the stalemate through negotiations, characterizing a national emergency declaration as the “last thing you do” and urging the president to “tread lightly.”
https://thehill.com/policy/defense/424651-emergency-declaration-option-for-wall-tests-gop?userid=229233
They'll stand up to him with all the resolve of a bowl of mashed potatoes.
= new reply since forum marked as read
…I can see it all now the next time we're up to bat...
...lack of universal healthcare is definitely a national emergency...
...the Pentagon has too much money anyway...
...go for it MAGA Man, or are you a wimp?...
