Trump is demanding Senate Republicans ignore the U.S. Constitution and show loyalty to him on the issue of the fake national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border.
“Senate Republicans are not voting on constitutionality or precedent, they are voting on desperately needed Border Security & the Wall,” Trump said Wednesday afternoon. “Our Country is being invaded with Drugs, Human Traffickers, & Criminals of all shapes and sizes. That’s what this vote is all about. STAY UNITED!”
Trump is referring to an upcoming Senate vote to block the fake national emergency declaration. The Democratic majority in the House of Representatives already passed the measure by a wide margin, and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will bring the measure up for a vote in the Senate in the coming weeks, where it is expected to pass with the help of a small number of Republicans.
Trump declared a national emergency in mid-February after Congress rejected his request for $5.7 billion for a border wall. Trump’s obsession with building the wall is so intense that he was willing to shut down the government for 35 days. But that didn’t work. After Trump finally signed legislation to reopen the government, he declared a national emergency so he could steal funds from other programs to build his wall.
Trump’s abusive power grab alarmed national security experts and even former Republican members of Congress. After all, the Constitution gives Congress the power to make funding decisions, not the Executive Branch.
More than 20 former Republican members of Congress sent a letter to current members, pleading with them to “resist efforts to surrender” to Trump on this issue. “Our oath is to put the country and its Constitution above everything, including party politics or loyalty to a president,” the letter stated.
But Trump wants only what he wants, and is obviously willing to ignore the dictates laid out in the Constitution if it serves his self-interest.
No matter what Trump says, all senators are taking a vote on the constitutionality of Trump’s power grab. His attempt to bully Senate Republicans just proves he’s backed into a corner with no options left.
Published with permission of The American Independent.
