by Simone Williams
On February 14, Congress approved of a massive budget deal in order to avert the current government shutdown. President Donald Trump promised to sign the deal, however he was only willing to do so as long as he was allowed to declare a national emergency so that he could get more money for the wall.
After Donald Trump made that claim, many of his congressional allies said that his decision was very ill-advised. Democrats have since promised to take immediate action with the intention of blocking the idea as a whole. There has also been speculation that this declaration will most likely face legal challenges from states, border residents, and civil liberties groups.
House Judiciary Chairman, Jerrold Nadler, stated, “This declaration is a gross abuse of power that cannot be tolerated.”
Chairman Jerrold Nadler has stated that he has plans to introduce a resolution of disapproval that would overturn the declaration. The passage of that disapproval would then trigger an automatic consideration by the Senate. If this were to happen, a majority vote would be needed in order for it to be agreed on.
Jerrold Nadler isn’t the first person to disagree with Trump’s announcement, Senator Marco Rubio said, “I don’t think it’s a good idea to do it this way.”
Another person on the opposing side is Senator Susan Collins, who thinks that an emergency declaration is a very bad idea, seeing it as a “big mistake.” The Counsel’s Office of the White House has also warned president Trump against the idea of declaring a national emergency. They see it as a “high litigation risk” and thus, think he should refrain from doing so.
The biggest fear with this new declaration is the law suits that are bound to follow after a decision is made. Everyone, even congress and White House Officials see the new border deal as a terrible idea that is only going to lead to more problems. If this deal goes through Congress predicts that many lawsuits will ensue. The lawsuit would then cause litigants to multiply which is exactly what the Counsel’s Office was afraid of happening.
US Studies teacher Thomas Triggs said, “I don’t think we need a wall, what we need is border security, which is an idea I would think just about everyone is on board with. Also, fellow nations should be asked about their opinion on the idea.”