President Donald Trump has declared he will sign the spending legislation bill, then declare a national emergency and enact other executive powers to build the border wall between the United States and Mexico. This comes after weeks of standoff between the White House and Congress over funding and the wall that resulted in a partial government shutdown.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders gave a statement today confirming that the President will sign the bill that allows him about a quarter of the funds he sought to build the wall. The emergency powers will allow him to divert the rest of the funds from other government projects towards the wall without the need for congressional approval, “to ensure we stop the national security and humanitarian crisis at the border.”
If enacted, this will avert a second potential government shutdown of recent weeks, but the decision will be challenged by lawmakers and opposition. Speaker Nancy Pelosi “may file a legal challenge.” At the very least, it will be contentious, and even some GOP senators warned against it when the President threatened it previously. Senator Marco Rubio wondered if the motion would hold up in court. It is, however, supported by Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell, who is behind the national emergency amendment.
The White House believes it can feasibly divert $2.7 billion from other sectors, possibly from the military. It has also been announced by the Pentagon that over 3,500 troops will be sent to the border to help ease the migrant crisis.
With this piece of news coming forward, we have yet to hear the opinions of the federal workers or their unions regarding this. As mentioned above this would avoid the secondary shutdown which many have been fearing as it may have served as a longer term than the most recent one (which still set a record for the country).
James Smith
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[…] Trump finally fulfilled the months-long threat of declaring a national emergency to secure funding for a wall along the southern US border. Democrats are already calling this move […]
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