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President Donald Trump visited an overlook along the Rio Grande at the U.S. Border Patrol McAllen Station in McAllen, Texas on Jan. 10, 2019. (Photo: Shealah Craighead/White House/Flickr)
The country's longest ever government shutdown hit day 35 on Friday and federal workers missed yet another paycheck--but instead of urging the GOP-controlled Senate to pass legislation to reopen the government, the White House is reportedly drafting a national emergency order to secure more than $7 billion for President Donald Trump's racist border wall, despite warnings from legal experts that doing so would be "constitutionally illegitimate."
"It wasn't an emergency last week. It wasn't an emergency when the GOP controlled Congress and the White House. It's not an emergency now."
--Rep. Ilhan Omar
A draft obtained exclusively by CNN and updated as recently as last week supposedly declares, "The massive amount of aliens who unlawfully enter the United States each day is a direct threat to the safety and security of our nation and constitutes a national emergency."
"Now, therefore, I, Donald J. Trump, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C 1601, et seq.), hereby declare that a national emergency exists at the southern border of the United States," it reads.
An unnamed government official told CNN that the White House has identified various sources of funding for the wall, which prompted the shutdown: "$681 million from Treasury forfeiture funds, $3.6 billion in military construction, $3 billion in Pentagon civil works funds, and $200 million in Department of Homeland Security funds."
Such a move, if pursued, would undoubtedly face legal challenges in the courts and from Democrats in Congress, but if Trump's order was allowed to stand, it would mobilize the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to build a wall along the southern border, which would require the federal government to seize private land.
The CNN report, published Thursday night, was met with immediate condemnation.
"It wasn't an emergency last week. It wasn't an emergency when the GOP controlled Congress and the White House. It's not an emergency now," tweeted Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.). "Trump invented this emergency when Mexico and 70 percent of Americans said no deal."
\u201cIt wasn't an emergency last week.\n\nIt wasn't an emergency when the GOP controlled Congress & the White House.\n\nIt's not an emergency now.\n\nTrump invented this emergency when Mexico & 70% of Americans said no deal. https://t.co/lx89nXRTkV\u201d— Ilhan Omar (@Ilhan Omar) 1548375958
"Whatever ultimately becomes of Trump's threat, or of the debate over the wall more generally, Congress ought to use this episode as an excuse to revisit the National Emergencies Act--and, more generally, the way in which it delegates these kinds of special powers to the president," Steve Vladeck, a professor at University of Texas School of Law, argued in an op-ed published Thursday by NBC News.
\u201cMy latest: Whether or not @realDonaldTrump ends up declaring a "national emergency" to build his wall, Congress should amend the National Emergencies Act to sunset all future presidential emergency declarations\u2014so that Congress would eventually have to authorize/reauthorize them:\u201d— Steve Vladeck (@Steve Vladeck) 1548373476
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
The country's longest ever government shutdown hit day 35 on Friday and federal workers missed yet another paycheck--but instead of urging the GOP-controlled Senate to pass legislation to reopen the government, the White House is reportedly drafting a national emergency order to secure more than $7 billion for President Donald Trump's racist border wall, despite warnings from legal experts that doing so would be "constitutionally illegitimate."
"It wasn't an emergency last week. It wasn't an emergency when the GOP controlled Congress and the White House. It's not an emergency now."
--Rep. Ilhan Omar
A draft obtained exclusively by CNN and updated as recently as last week supposedly declares, "The massive amount of aliens who unlawfully enter the United States each day is a direct threat to the safety and security of our nation and constitutes a national emergency."
"Now, therefore, I, Donald J. Trump, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C 1601, et seq.), hereby declare that a national emergency exists at the southern border of the United States," it reads.
An unnamed government official told CNN that the White House has identified various sources of funding for the wall, which prompted the shutdown: "$681 million from Treasury forfeiture funds, $3.6 billion in military construction, $3 billion in Pentagon civil works funds, and $200 million in Department of Homeland Security funds."
Such a move, if pursued, would undoubtedly face legal challenges in the courts and from Democrats in Congress, but if Trump's order was allowed to stand, it would mobilize the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to build a wall along the southern border, which would require the federal government to seize private land.
The CNN report, published Thursday night, was met with immediate condemnation.
"It wasn't an emergency last week. It wasn't an emergency when the GOP controlled Congress and the White House. It's not an emergency now," tweeted Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.). "Trump invented this emergency when Mexico and 70 percent of Americans said no deal."
\u201cIt wasn't an emergency last week.\n\nIt wasn't an emergency when the GOP controlled Congress & the White House.\n\nIt's not an emergency now.\n\nTrump invented this emergency when Mexico & 70% of Americans said no deal. https://t.co/lx89nXRTkV\u201d— Ilhan Omar (@Ilhan Omar) 1548375958
"Whatever ultimately becomes of Trump's threat, or of the debate over the wall more generally, Congress ought to use this episode as an excuse to revisit the National Emergencies Act--and, more generally, the way in which it delegates these kinds of special powers to the president," Steve Vladeck, a professor at University of Texas School of Law, argued in an op-ed published Thursday by NBC News.
\u201cMy latest: Whether or not @realDonaldTrump ends up declaring a "national emergency" to build his wall, Congress should amend the National Emergencies Act to sunset all future presidential emergency declarations\u2014so that Congress would eventually have to authorize/reauthorize them:\u201d— Steve Vladeck (@Steve Vladeck) 1548373476
The country's longest ever government shutdown hit day 35 on Friday and federal workers missed yet another paycheck--but instead of urging the GOP-controlled Senate to pass legislation to reopen the government, the White House is reportedly drafting a national emergency order to secure more than $7 billion for President Donald Trump's racist border wall, despite warnings from legal experts that doing so would be "constitutionally illegitimate."
"It wasn't an emergency last week. It wasn't an emergency when the GOP controlled Congress and the White House. It's not an emergency now."
--Rep. Ilhan Omar
A draft obtained exclusively by CNN and updated as recently as last week supposedly declares, "The massive amount of aliens who unlawfully enter the United States each day is a direct threat to the safety and security of our nation and constitutes a national emergency."
"Now, therefore, I, Donald J. Trump, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C 1601, et seq.), hereby declare that a national emergency exists at the southern border of the United States," it reads.
An unnamed government official told CNN that the White House has identified various sources of funding for the wall, which prompted the shutdown: "$681 million from Treasury forfeiture funds, $3.6 billion in military construction, $3 billion in Pentagon civil works funds, and $200 million in Department of Homeland Security funds."
Such a move, if pursued, would undoubtedly face legal challenges in the courts and from Democrats in Congress, but if Trump's order was allowed to stand, it would mobilize the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to build a wall along the southern border, which would require the federal government to seize private land.
The CNN report, published Thursday night, was met with immediate condemnation.
"It wasn't an emergency last week. It wasn't an emergency when the GOP controlled Congress and the White House. It's not an emergency now," tweeted Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.). "Trump invented this emergency when Mexico and 70 percent of Americans said no deal."
\u201cIt wasn't an emergency last week.\n\nIt wasn't an emergency when the GOP controlled Congress & the White House.\n\nIt's not an emergency now.\n\nTrump invented this emergency when Mexico & 70% of Americans said no deal. https://t.co/lx89nXRTkV\u201d— Ilhan Omar (@Ilhan Omar) 1548375958
"Whatever ultimately becomes of Trump's threat, or of the debate over the wall more generally, Congress ought to use this episode as an excuse to revisit the National Emergencies Act--and, more generally, the way in which it delegates these kinds of special powers to the president," Steve Vladeck, a professor at University of Texas School of Law, argued in an op-ed published Thursday by NBC News.
\u201cMy latest: Whether or not @realDonaldTrump ends up declaring a "national emergency" to build his wall, Congress should amend the National Emergencies Act to sunset all future presidential emergency declarations\u2014so that Congress would eventually have to authorize/reauthorize them:\u201d— Steve Vladeck (@Steve Vladeck) 1548373476