Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
House Dems Introduce Measure to Revoke Trump Border Edict
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
February 22, 2019

Share

WASHINGTON — House Democrats on Friday introduced a resolution to block the national emergency declaration that President Donald Trump issued to fund his long-sought wall along the U.S-Mexico border.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., immediately announced that a vote would come on Tuesday.

“What the president is attempting is an unconstitutional power grab. There is no emergency at the border.”Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas
The move sets up a fight that could result in Trump’s first veto. It starts the clock on a constitutional clash between Trump and Democrats and sets up a vote by the full House as soon as next week.
The Democratic-controlled House is sure to pass the measure, and the GOP-run Senate may adopt it as well despite Trump’s opposition.
Any Trump veto would likely be sustained, but the upcoming battle will test Republican support for Trump’s move, which even some of his allies view as a stretch — and a slap at lawmakers’ control over the power of the federal purse.
A staff aide introduced the measure during a short pro forma session of the House in which Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., presided over an almost empty chamber.
“What the president is attempting is an unconstitutional power grab,” said Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, the sponsor of the resolution, on a call with reporters. “There is no emergency at the border.”
Pelosi added that the measure would “reassert our system of checks and balances.”

Billions of Dollars Beyond What Congress Has Authorized

Should the House and the Senate initially approve the measure, Congress seems unlikely to muster the two-thirds majorities in each chamber that would be needed later to override a certain Trump veto.
The measure to block Trump’s edict will be closely watched in the Senate, where moderates such as Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., have signaled they would back it. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is only a reluctant supporter of Trump on the topic.

Besides signing the bill, Trump also declared a national emergency and used other authorities that he says give him access to an additional $6.6 billion for wall building.
The battle is over an emergency declaration Trump issued to access billions of dollars beyond what Congress has authorized to start erecting border barriers. Building his proposed wall was the most visible trademark of Trump’s presidential campaign.
Congress last week approved a vast spending bill providing nearly $1.4 billion to build 55 miles of border barriers in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley while preventing a renewed government shutdown. That measure represented a rejection of Trump’s demand for $5.7 billion to construct more than 200 miles.
Besides signing the bill, Trump also declared a national emergency and used other authorities that he says give him access to an additional $6.6 billion for wall building. That money would be transferred from a federal asset forfeiture fund, Defense Department anti-drug efforts and a military construction fund. Federal officials have yet to identify which projects would be affected.
Castro said he has already garnered support from a majority of the Democratic-controlled House as co-sponsors and that he has at least one GOP sponsor, Rep. Justin Amash of Michigan.
Castro’s measure says Trump’s emergency declaration “is hereby terminated.” Castro chairs the 38-member Congressional Hispanic Caucus.
Pelosi wrote that the Republican president’s “decision to go outside the bounds of the law to try to get what he failed to achieve in the constitutional legislative process violates the Constitution and must be terminated.”

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

The TikTok Effect: Viral Videos Create the Next Travel Hotspots

DON'T MISS

‘The Studio’ Knows the Real Reason Movies Are Bad

DON'T MISS

US-China Tariff Talks to Continue Sunday, an Official Tells The Associated Press

DON'T MISS

Has America Given Up on Children’s Learning?

DON'T MISS

Could Trump Team Suspend Habeas Corpus to Expedite Deportations?

DON'T MISS

Two Teens Charged in Shooting Death of Caleb Quick

DON'T MISS

India and Pakistan Agree to a Ceasefire After Their Worst Military Escalation in Decades

DON'T MISS

Ukraine and Allies Urge Putin to Commit to a 30-Day Ceasefire or Face New Sanctions

DON'T MISS

Soviet-Era Spacecraft Plunges to Earth After 53 Years Stuck in Orbit

DON'T MISS

Tax the Rich? Slash Spending? Republicans Wrestle With Economic Priorities in the Trump Era

UP NEXT

India and Pakistan Agree to a Ceasefire After Their Worst Military Escalation in Decades

UP NEXT

Ukraine and Allies Urge Putin to Commit to a 30-Day Ceasefire or Face New Sanctions

UP NEXT

Israeli Airstrikes Kill 23 in Gaza as Outcry Over Aid Blockade Grows

UP NEXT

Experts Call Kennedy’s Plan to find Autism’s Cause Unrealistic

UP NEXT

Summer Movie Guide 2025: Here’s What’s Coming to Theaters and Streaming From May to August

UP NEXT

First At-Home Test Kit for Cervical Cancer Approved by the FDA, Company Says

UP NEXT

Leo XIV’s Service to Poor Propelled Him to Papacy, Cardinals Say

UP NEXT

Nitrous Oxide Recreational Use Risks: Brain Damage, Death, and Easy Access

UP NEXT

Former Supreme Court Justice David Souter, a Republican Who Became a Liberal Darling, Dies at 85

UP NEXT

Pope Leo XIV Celebrates First Mass as Pope and Calls His Election Both a Cross and a Blessing

Has America Given Up on Children’s Learning?

23 hours ago

Could Trump Team Suspend Habeas Corpus to Expedite Deportations?

1 day ago

Two Teens Charged in Shooting Death of Caleb Quick

1 day ago

India and Pakistan Agree to a Ceasefire After Their Worst Military Escalation in Decades

1 day ago

Ukraine and Allies Urge Putin to Commit to a 30-Day Ceasefire or Face New Sanctions

1 day ago

Soviet-Era Spacecraft Plunges to Earth After 53 Years Stuck in Orbit

1 day ago

Tax the Rich? Slash Spending? Republicans Wrestle With Economic Priorities in the Trump Era

1 day ago

Israeli Airstrikes Kill 23 in Gaza as Outcry Over Aid Blockade Grows

1 day ago

Experts Call Kennedy’s Plan to find Autism’s Cause Unrealistic

1 day ago

Trump’s Trip to Saudi Arabia Raises the Prospect of US Nuclear Cooperation With the Kingdom

1 day ago

The TikTok Effect: Viral Videos Create the Next Travel Hotspots

A recent study from TripIt and Edelman Data & Intelligence discovered 69% of millennials and Gen Z use social media to find inspiration ...

6 hours ago

6 hours ago

The TikTok Effect: Viral Videos Create the Next Travel Hotspots

6 hours ago

‘The Studio’ Knows the Real Reason Movies Are Bad

21 hours ago

US-China Tariff Talks to Continue Sunday, an Official Tells The Associated Press

23 hours ago

Has America Given Up on Children’s Learning?

1 day ago

Could Trump Team Suspend Habeas Corpus to Expedite Deportations?

The Clovis Police Department identified two suspects they have arrested in connection with the murder of Caleb Quick, 18, at a Saturday, May 10, 2025, news conference. (GV Wire Composite)
1 day ago

Two Teens Charged in Shooting Death of Caleb Quick

1 day ago

India and Pakistan Agree to a Ceasefire After Their Worst Military Escalation in Decades

1 day ago

Ukraine and Allies Urge Putin to Commit to a 30-Day Ceasefire or Face New Sanctions

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend