Democrats blocking any action that benefits Trump and Americans.
Via Defense News:
Amid reports U.S. President Donald Trump is drafting a national emergency declaration to divert Pentagon funds for his border wall, some Democrats are working to turn this path into a dead end.
Fifty-one House Democrats signed a letter, led by Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., to House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith, D-Wash., asking that Smith use the fiscal 2020 National Defense Authorization Act to assure the administration “cannot utilize a fake ‘national emergency’ to co-opt the military into the construction of the President’s wall.”
“A President’s war powers are the most serious powers held by the Commander in Chief and should never be utilized for political stunts, only genuine national security emergencies,” said a draft of the letter obtained by Defense News. “As you know the Constitution gives the House the power to appropriate federal funds. Spending funds on a wall Congress has not authorized is a violation of the Anti-Deficiency Act as well as a violation of separation of powers.”
The letter being circulated has been signed by Reps. Mark Pocan, D-Wis., and Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., who co-chair the Congressional Progressive Caucus; Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss.; Rules Committee Chair Jim McGovern, D-Mass.; HASC Readiness Subcommittee Chair John Garamendi, D-Calif.; and Hawaii Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, an HASC member who’s seeking the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020.
In an interview Thursday, Schakowsky argued that Trump cannot legally use the national emergency authority to free up taxpayer funds to build the border wall he has long promised his political supporters.
“The NDAA has to be clear how the money can be spent and not spent,” Schakowsky said. “We feel the president doesn’t have the authority to use DoD resources to build a wall anyway, but we want to make it clear, because this president doesn’t seem to understand what’s in the law and where the prerogatives of the Congress come in.”
The authorization bill is not expected to be passed until late this year, but if Trump proceeds with the declaration, it will likely be challenged in court and by Democrats in Congress, which could delay implementation of the administration’s potential plans.