Trump Vetoes Resolution Denouncing 'National Emergency' For Border Wall Funding

Donald Trump vetos resolution denouncing 'national emergency' declaration

Donald Trump has vetoed the congressional resolution aimed at blocking his 'national emergency' declaration for border wall funds.

This is the first veto of his presidency.

From NPR:

Congressional critics do not appear to have the votes to override Trump's veto. So, as a practical matter, the administration can continue to spend billions of dollars more on border barriers than lawmakers authorized, unless and until the courts intervene.

"Today I am vetoing this resolution," Trump said, flanked by law enforcement officials at an Oval Office event. "Congress has the freedom to pass this resolution and I have the duty to veto it."

Trump had telegraphed his plan to proceed with additional wall spending on Thursday, minutes after the Senate voted 59-41 to block it. Twelve Republican senators joined Democrats in rejecting the president's emergency declaration.

Trump declared a national emergency last month, after Congress authorized only $1.3 billion in border wall funding, far short of the $5.7 billion Trump had asked for. The emergency declaration allows the president to redirect funds from other accounts such as military construction to the Southern border wall.

Republican senators who bucked the president said they did so to preserve congressional control over the government's purse strings.

The border wall project still faces a variety of legal challenges, and despite Trump's veto, House and Senate votes against the emergency declaration could carry some weight in the courts.

Would this be a good time to remind folks that Trump lied all those times on the campaign stump when he claimed Mexico would pay for the wall?

JUST IN: President Trump issues his first veto, rejecting Congress' bid to overturn his national emergency declaration. https://t.co/kxcHRoZACq pic.twitter.com/65F6w8LwUS

— CBS News (@CBSNews) March 15, 2019

12 GOP Senators Vote For Resolution To Rebuke Trump's 'National Emergency' Declaration

Donald Trump

UPDATE: Twelve Republican senators joined with Democrats to approve a resolution denouncing Donald Trump's declaration of a 'national emergency' to gain funding for his long-sought border wall by a vote of 59-41.

12 Senate Republicans have voted Yes on disapproval resolution (vote still open):
Alexander
Blunt
Collins
Lee
Moran
Murkowski
Paul
Portman
Romney
Rubio
Toomey
Wicker

— Craig Caplan (@CraigCaplan) March 14, 2019

The Trumpster made his next step perfectly clear immediately after the vote, tweeting "VETO!"

VETO!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 14, 2019

*****************************

Donald Trump went on a pre-emptive Twitter rant in advance of a vote in the GOP-controlled Senate today on a Democratic resolution to block Trump's emergency declaration in order to get funds for his beloved border wall.

In his tweet, Trump threatens to veto the resolution which would be his first use of veto powers while in the White House.

A big National Emergency vote today by The United States Senate on Border Security & the Wall (which is already under major construction). I am prepared to veto, if necessary. The Southern Border is a National Security and Humanitarian Nightmare, but it can be easily fixed!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 14, 2019

So far, seven Republican senators have announced they will vote for the resolution - Sens. Mitt Romney, Mike Lee, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Thom Tillis, Rand Paul, and Lamar Alexander.

The Hill suggests Sens. Marco Rubio, Ben Sasse, Ron Johnson and Jerry Moran could join the list of Republicans voting against the president.

Randy Rainbow Trolls Trump With Madonna Parody "Border Lies"

Political satirist Randy Rainbow brightens our Tuesday with his latest video, a parody of Madonna's 1983 hit, "Borderline."

In this version, Rainbow calls out Donald Trump's wild exaggerations of a national emergency as "Border Lies."

As always, the clever word play by our intrepid Mr. Rainbow is on point. Hit the play button below and enjoy.

Sixteen States File Joint Lawsuit To Block Trump's 'National Emergency'

Donald Trump

Sixteen states have filed a joint lawsuit to stop Donald Trump from using 'national emergency' powers to get funding for his long-promised wall on the southern border of the United States.

From The New York Times:

The lawsuit is part of a constitutional confrontation that Mr. Trump set off on Friday when he declared that he would spend billions of dollars more on border barriers than Congress had granted him. The clash raises questions over congressional control of spending, the scope of emergency powers granted to the president, and how far the courts are willing to go to settle such a dispute.

The suit, filed in Federal District Court in San Francisco, argues that the president does not have the power to divert funds for constructing a wall along the Mexican border because it is Congress that controls spending.

Xavier Becerra, the attorney general of California, said in an interview that the president himself had undercut his argument that there was an emergency on the border.

“Probably the best evidence is the president’s own words,” he said, referring to Mr. Trump’s speech on Feb. 15 announcing his plan: “I didn’t need to do this, but I’d rather do it much faster.”

Joining California and New York are Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon and Virginia.

You can read the full lawsuit here.

Since Congress enacted the National Emergencies Act of 1976, presidents have declared 59 national emergencies. Prior to Trump's declaration, not one has been for funding of a political goal.

Throughout the 2016 campaign, Trump repeatedly told his followers he would 'build the wall' and Mexico would pay for it.

Using this emergency declaration, Trump will take funds previously allocated to law enforcement priorities and military construction.

Trump Declares National Emergency "I Didn't Need To Do This, I Just Want To Do It Faster"

Donald Trump declares 'national emergency' over border security

Donald Trump announced today from the White House Rose Garden that he will sign the $328 billion spending bill Congress passed Thursday to avoid another federal government shutdown before a midnight Friday deadline.

The spending package includes $1.375 billion for 55 miles of fencing along the southern border, much less than the $5+ billion Trump sought for his beloved wall.

Trump also said in his announcement today that he will declare a national emergency in order to redirect funds from elsewhere in the federal government, via executive powers, to cobble together an $8 billion slush fund to repair and build 234 miles of border barrier.

From Politico:

In addition to the funds Congress has appropriated, the White House will seek to redirect $3.6 billion from a military construction fund, $600 million from a Treasury Department drug forfeiture fund and $2.5 billion from a Pentagon drug prevention program, acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney told reporters Friday.

Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi called the emergency declaration "a lawless act" and "a gross abuse of the power of the presidency.”

Even some Republicans have been privately and publicly urging Trump to avoid such a step, fearful that the expansion in powers could propel a future Democratic president to take the same step on climate change or gun violence.

During his speech, Trump repeated his assertion regarding 'national emergencies' that, “This has been done many times in the past - President Obama did it – it’s not such a big deal.”

Trump also took a slap at ultra-conservative Ann Coulter.

Pres. Trump on Ann Coulter, right-wing commentator who has been critical of the president's actions on immigration: "I don't know her. I hardly know her...I just don't have the time to speak to her."

"I like her, but she's off the reservation." https://t.co/xb0BBhlx7T pic.twitter.com/PAm4vU9DVE

— ABC News (@ABC) February 15, 2019

Trump, responding to my question, concedes there’s no national emergency to justify building his wall: “I didn’t need to do this... I just want to do it faster.”
That answer will complicate his legal case.

— Peter Alexander (@PeterAlexander) February 15, 2019

Speaker Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Schumer:

"This is plainly a power grab by a disappointed President, who has gone outside the bounds of the law to try to get what he failed to achieve in the constitutional legislative process." pic.twitter.com/ElxS5CU2eN

— NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt (@NBCNightlyNews) February 15, 2019

.@chucktodd explains the implications of the president's Rose Garden press conference on @MSNBC:

"It was already a very tough case to make … but he made it a lot harder by essentially admitting this was a political decision."

— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) February 15, 2019

Dude's lost it. pic.twitter.com/ysatfxTVFT

— Brian Tyler Cohen (@briantylercohen) February 15, 2019

As I watched Trump's bizarre performance this morning -- his sing-song recitation about the courts, his paranoid allusions to media reporting about his ban, his weird "I didn't need to do this" concession that there's really no emergency -- I kept thinking: 25th Amendment.

— Robert Reich (@RBReich) February 15, 2019

If Trump “didn’t need to do this,” how could it possibly be a national emergency? https://t.co/0fBlkKBKPk

— Renato Mariotti (@renato_mariotti) February 15, 2019

No, the goal of a national emergency is for Trump to scam the stupidest people in his base for 2 more years. https://t.co/6DQSkqxV8h

— Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) February 15, 2019

News Round-Up: January 11, 2019

Joe Blizzard

Some news items you might have missed:

• InstaHunk Joe Blizzard is setting some serious 'beard goals.' #Woof

• White House officials are considering diverting disaster funds earmarked for Puerto Rico, Florida, Texas and California to build Donald Trump's beloved 'wall' under the guise of declaring the border situation a 'national emergency.'

• Did you hear about the United Airlines pilot and copilot having sex in the cockpit during a flight? Me neither. But fools who came across the fake story on the fake news site World News Daily Report swallowed the bogus story hook, line and sinker.

• After reviewing recent HIV research, experts at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) say they agree with over 300 health agencies around the world: HIV positive people with an undetectable viral load cannot sexually transmit HIV.

• Hate crime charges have been filed against a Washington state man who groped and punched a married lesbian couple at a Seattle Seahawks game.

• Check out this promo video for the upcoming WorldPride Main Event on Saturday, June 29, 2019, which will bring the entire LGBTQ community and its allies together on one ginormous dance floor at New York City's largest venue, the Jacob Javitz Center.

Click here for more info on Pride Festival.