![]() If Congress doesn’t give him what he wants, the president can’t do an end run by diverting public money for a campaign promise for which he has failed to secure funding.Ĭongress has granted the president limited power to spend federal funds without a congressional authorization if the president declares a national emergency. The system is far from perfect, but it’s the way it works in our democracy. ![]() Members of Congress fight to secure funding for national priorities and their constituents’ needs during the yearly budget battles that dominate Washington for months. The Constitution assigns Congress the power of the purse. The president cannot now try to get his way by unilaterally taking money that Congress has already budgeted for other things. ![]() Congress considered his desire for $5.7 billion in wall funding - and rejected it, instead appropriating $1.375 billion for new border barriers. Trump added that his reason for the declaration was that he wanted to build the wall “much faster.” But that’s not how our democratic system works. Trump himself admitted that there is no emergency when he said, “ I didn’t need to do this.” It’s when something unexpected and dangerous happens that requires an immediate response. In doing so, he’s violating the law, subverting the Constitution and hurting American communities. President Donald Trump declared a “national emergency” on Friday to pay for his border wall. ![]() This was originally published by USA Today. ![]()
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