Trump's Emergency Plan Splits the GOP After McConnell Backs It
McConnell surprised his colleagues by announcing that he told Trump he’d support plans to declare an emergency.
(Bloomberg) -- Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and other Republicans had been signaling for weeks that they hoped to avoid an emergency declaration by President Donald Trump to build a border wall. The move risked dividing the GOP, messy floor votes and a certain court challenge from Democrats.
When the time for a decision came Thursday, McConnell lined up behind Trump.
“I indicated to him I’m going to support the national emergency declaration,” McConnell of Kentucky said on the Senate floor.
On Jan. 29, the majority leader had told reporters, "I’m for whatever works, which means avoiding a shutdown and avoiding the president feeling he should declare a national emergency."
The president plans to unilaterally shift nearly $7 billion in federal funds to construct physical barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border, according to a person familiar with his intentions. That’s on top of the $1.375 billion for fencing contained in spending legislation passed by Congress Thursday, which the president said he will sign.
McConnell’s decision to support a declaration by the president surprised many of his colleagues, and some Republicans said they’re worried Congress would be turning over its power to the president.
It’s "a bad idea," said GOP Senator Marco Rubio of Florida. “It raises real constitutional questions."
But others backed Trump and McConnell. “I stand firmly behind President Trump’s decision to use executive powers to build the wall-barriers we desperately need,” said Senator Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican and ally of Trump.
Declaring a national emergency would allow Trump to shift billions allocated to other projects to the wall. In addition to lawsuits, that will trigger votes in the House and Senate on whether to disapprove the emergency declaration. Some Republicans, including Rubio, said they may support a legislative move to block Trump from using those funds.
If a majority in both chambers votes to disapprove, Trump could veto the disapproval resolution. The chances of a veto override, requiring two-thirds of each chamber, are remote, particularly with McConnell backing the president.
Many Republicans, including Senators Roy Blunt of Missouri and Mitt Romney of Utah, said they would wait and see what Trump does before deciding how to proceed.
GOP Senator Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania said he’s against a national emergency but wouldn’t commit to voting to disapprove of one. “My view is this is better resolved through the legislative process,” he said.
The White House didn’t provide details Thursday of which pots of money the president plans to divert to a border wall, but the administration has discussed at least four possible areas to tap: a Defense Department anti-drug-smuggling program, military construction funds, Army Corps of Engineers disaster money and criminal asset forfeiture funds.
Republican Senator Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia said Trump may be justified because Congress isn’t providing enough money to ensure security at the U.S.-Mexico border. "The issues at the border are important enough to move in that direction," said Capito, adding that she’s concerned about the precedent the declaration would set, and that she will review the president’s order.
GOP Senator Susan Collins of Maine opposed an emergency order because “it undermines the role of Congress and the appropriations process.”
GOP Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky also told reporters he doesn’t support an emergency declaration.
“The Constitution is very clear at trying to separate the powers, and if we start naming things as emergency I think very quickly we lose sort of the checks and balances of government,” he said.
Power of the Purse
Pelosi, a California Democrat, told reporters that a legal challenge is an option. "The president is doing an end run around Congress, the power of the purse," she said at a news conference.
House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler, a New York Democrat, said in a statement he’ll support a resolution against an emergency declaration "and intend to pursue all other available legal options."
Trump also faced resistance to tapping Defense Department money from members of the GOP including the House Armed Service Committee’s top Republican, Mac Thornberry of Texas. "It would undercut one of the most significant accomplishments of the last two years -- beginning to repair and rebuild our military," he said.
Some legal specialists warned that an emergency declaration sets a bad precedent for future presidents.
"If Trump can get away with declaring a national emergency and then spending money on this construction project which is only vaguely related to national security, why wouldn’t future presidents do the same thing?" asked Ilya Somin, a law professor at George Mason University and an expert in constitutional law and property law. "What’s to stop a President Elizabeth Warren or any other Democratic president from saying climate change is a threat to national security?"
Charles Tiefer, a professor of law at the University of Baltimore, said the Democratic-controlled House would have standing to try to sue the White House for its attempts to move money to fund the wall. Tiefer said a declaration could prompt lawmakers to add language to future spending bills forbidding transfers under national emergencies.
"What you would see is bill after bill coming out of Congress specifying that funds in those bills cannot be used for a wall," he predicted.
--With assistance from Ari Natter, Anna Edgerton, Sahil Kapur, Arit John and Laura Litvan.
To contact the reporters on this story: Steven T. Dennis in Washington at sdennis17@bloomberg.net;Erik Wasson in Washington at ewasson@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Joe Sobczyk at jsobczyk@bloomberg.net, Justin Blum, Laurie Asséo
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