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 5 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

Jack Black, a Small Dog With a Big Heart, Is Looking for His Forever Home

DON'T MISS

Kamala Harris: A Baptist With a Jewish Husband and a Faith That Traces Back to MLK and Gandhi

DON'T MISS

What Italian Grandmothers Can Teach You About Healthy Eating

DON'T MISS

CA Has Seen Many New Towns, but This Big Project Is Stalled

DON'T MISS

Kern County Farmland Values Continue Downward Slide

DON'T MISS

Crescent View West High Celebrates New Clovis Home

DON'T MISS

Fresno Man Sentenced to 29 Years for Sexually Assaulting Children and Dog

DON'T MISS

Bulldogs’ Two-Position Standout Tommy Hopfe Signs With Rockies

DON'T MISS

Artists, Vendors Plan to Defy City’s ArtHop Crackdown

DON'T MISS

Former Bulldog QB Jake Haener: I Have a ‘Rare Form of Skin Cancer’

UP NEXT

The Many Names of GOP Vice Presidential Nominee JD Vance

UP NEXT

Warner Bros. Discovery Sues NBA for Not Accepting Its Matching Offer

UP NEXT

Netanyahu Will Meet Trump at Mar-a-Lago, Mending a Yearslong Rift

UP NEXT

Watch: Breaking Down Netanyahu’s Speech in Congress

UP NEXT

Recall of Boar’s Head Deli Meats Announced During Investigation of Listeria Outbreak

UP NEXT

Uvalde, Texas, School Officer Pleads Not Guilty to Charges of Failing to Protect Kids During Attack

UP NEXT

Spicy Dispute Over the Origins of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos Winds up in Court

UP NEXT

Harris Tells Netanyahu ‘It Is Time’ to Get Hostage Deal Done and End Gaza War

UP NEXT

Biden and Netanyahu Meet With a Show of Amiable Relations Despite Tensions

UP NEXT

Fresno County Sheriff Thanks Community for Their Help in Finding Relatives of Deceased Man

CA Has Seen Many New Towns, but This Big Project Is Stalled

2 hours ago

Kern County Farmland Values Continue Downward Slide

2 hours ago

Crescent View West High Celebrates New Clovis Home

13 hours ago

Fresno Man Sentenced to 29 Years for Sexually Assaulting Children and Dog

13 hours ago

Bulldogs’ Two-Position Standout Tommy Hopfe Signs With Rockies

14 hours ago

Artists, Vendors Plan to Defy City’s ArtHop Crackdown

14 hours ago

Former Bulldog QB Jake Haener: I Have a ‘Rare Form of Skin Cancer’

15 hours ago

The Many Names of GOP Vice Presidential Nominee JD Vance

15 hours ago

‘Fed Up’ Dyer, Councilmembers Unveil Plan to Crack Down on Street Campers

15 hours ago

House Republicans Slam Trump’s ‘Worst Choice’ for VP Pick JD Vance

15 hours ago

Jack Black, a Small Dog With a Big Heart, Is Looking for His Forever Home

In October last year, a heartwarming tale of resilience and recovery began in the unlikeliest of places: a crate abandoned in an alley. This...

45 mins ago

45 mins ago

Jack Black, a Small Dog With a Big Heart, Is Looking for His Forever Home

50 mins ago

Kamala Harris: A Baptist With a Jewish Husband and a Faith That Traces Back to MLK and Gandhi

1 hour ago

What Italian Grandmothers Can Teach You About Healthy Eating

2 hours ago

CA Has Seen Many New Towns, but This Big Project Is Stalled

2 hours ago

Kern County Farmland Values Continue Downward Slide

13 hours ago

Crescent View West High Celebrates New Clovis Home

13 hours ago

Fresno Man Sentenced to 29 Years for Sexually Assaulting Children and Dog

14 hours ago

Bulldogs’ Two-Position Standout Tommy Hopfe Signs With Rockies

MENU

CONNECT WITH US

Search

Send this to a friend