![]() ![]() Trump’s emergency declaration is an attempt to circumvent one of the most important constitutional checks on presidential power - the “power of the purse,” to raise and spend money, which is given to Congress under the US Constitution. Renato Mariotti, former federal prosecutor, 2007 to 2016, and host of the On Topic podcast There is scant evidence to indicate that a border wall is in fact essential to the national defense.Īs in so many of the Trump administration’s policies, we are relying on federal judges to tell us when the president has overreached. The second statute allows the secretary of the Army to direct troops and resources “that are essential to the national defense.” Here, again, we have a problem. Instead, the reverse may be true, you need armed forces to build a wall. The problem here is that there is no real evidence that the armed forces need a wall to support them. One allows the secretary of defense to start a military program if it is needed to support armed forces. ![]() There are two statutes that he is most likely to use. Once President Trump declares a national emergency, what is the next step? He should point to specific statutory authority to get the resources and funds he needs to build a wall. But that is merely the beginning of the inquiry. Under the National Emergencies Act of 1976, presidents have broad authority to declare a national emergency. Will it get him what he wants? It should not. Jessica Levinson, law professor, Loyola Law SchoolĬan President Trump declare a national emergency? Absolutely. ![]() Their responses, lightly edited for clarity, are below. The consensus seems to be that while there is enough ambiguity in the law to permit Trump to declare an emergency, his decision to circumvent Congress and use the military to build a wall will very likely lose in court. I reached out to 11 legal experts and asked them to assess the president’s prospects. Now there are at least two pressing legal questions: Does Trump have the constitutional authority to do this? And will his declaration survive the challenge it will likely receive in the courts? The president has hinted for several weeks that this option was on the table, but it was never clear if he would actually go through with it, in part because it sets a dangerous precedent and will almost certainly be challenged in the courts.īut the president failed to strike a deal with Democrats that would give him the $5 billion he wanted to build the wall, so here we are. President Donald Trump just declared a national emergency in order to bypass Congress and fund his wall on the southern border. ![]()
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