What is the rationale for a chief executive having emergency powers? It is so the federal government can respond quickly to an emergency when it would take too long for Congress to convene and take action. The powers were never intended to circumvent or supersede Congress or to hold the government hostage to force Congress to fund a project wanted only for political partisan purposes or vanity projects. This contemplated abuse of executive power will not be the last. If he can do this, he can pardon himself, stop all the investigations into his self-dealing and criminal activities, sell Alaska back to Russia and Florida back to Spain. If you can make up one emergency and get away with it, there is no limit as to what an emergency will be in the bizarre world of DJT. He is testing Congress in the same way a toddler tests his parents limits of indulgence.
5
Trump is not interested in the border wall as a real policy. It began as a mnemonic device to remind him to mention immigration during his campaign. It became his signature issue and was a way to rally his base. Declaring an emergency is a way to keep it at the top of the news to continue to rally his base, even while nothing tangible is happening. It is a way to divert attention from the coming House of Representative hearings and the Mueller investigation by putting the wall at the top of the news.
3
I do not understand. A true emergency requires an immediate appropriate response. If there is time to debate whether there is an emergency or not ipso facto there is no emergency.Further Trump has been in charge for two years.If there is a crisis at the southern border it results from his mismanagement of this file.
3
"“It is a crisis when the president of the United States flouts the role of Congress and abuses his powers in order to get around the will of Congress and to undermine the democratic process for lawmaking set forth in the Constitution,” she said."
Well, he's pretty much been doing that from Day 1, hasn't he? Way past time for Congress (i.e., Mitch McConnell) to assert their authority under the Constitution.
3
What worries me is the consequences of declaring an emergency beyond the building of a wall. Presumably that won't start the next day, there will be a certain amount of surveying and design work that won't do any real damage, before the bulldozers start up. It will become even more obvious how pointless the whole exercise is. But meanwhile, we will be in a state of emergency, and probably the president will be able to carry out other whimsical projects, and enjoy special immunities -- how will all that work? Or will the declaration of emergency refer very specifically to building a wall along the border, nothing else? I suspect it will be a chaotic mess -- Trump's favorite environment.
3
How about Congress put money in the budget for border security and not say it's for a wall. How about saying it's for border security. And after they open the government, how about we look at the immigration laws with a fresh, 21st century set of eyes.
4
Condoning the act by Donald Trump evoking emergency powers or even considering the idea to save-face or „as a way to get past an ugly fight“ just shows the depths to which ethics and morals have been distorted by this presidency amongst intelligent, educated middle class people in the U.S. The „ugly fight“ is not between Republicans and Democrats but between Trump and anyone who disagrees with him. The currenct situation - one in which he is basically occupying government and holding government employees hostage - sets a very dangerous precedent. There are Mandy parallels with Hungary. It demonstrates just how little it takes for Trump to undermine democratic procedures and the Constitution itself whilst bending the minds of people to believe that how he‘s behaving and what he‘s doing is acceptable.
He’s grasping at straws to save himself and paving the way to bring every one down with him. But it’s the tip of the iceberg. How much more is it going to take before the Senate comes to it’s senses and acts together to remove him? And apropos Davos: his loss is definitely our gain.
1
The 13th amendment to the US constitution ratified in 1864 states: "Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." Doesn't requiring citizens to work without pay constitute "involuntary servitude"?
3
I hope he tries, he fails, and we make it so that no one can do the same thing ever again.
1
Really? "...the only politically realistic way."
It is either a national emergency or it is not (NOT in MHO). This is not some political game. Please do not, Mr. Savage, give trump cover for bullying his way in to a "win."
1
Any construction engineer can think up a compromise to offer. About 5% of any civil engineering project is the initial design work, which includes a much-tighter estimate of the eventual total cost. At this point, most projects have what we call an "off-ramp", a pre-agreement that the project can be cancelled if the design study news is too bad (be it cost, environment, public opposition, the 'triple bottom line').
But even cities proposing a new $5M library routinely tout the first approval of 5% as "the start of the project".
So give Trump the maximum of publicity that they caved and "approved the wall project", with an initial funding of 5% to:
1) Interview every private landowner on their acceptance or opposition to the project, with a count of how many times the eminent-domain card will have to be used, and the total land acquisition costs.
2) Tighter estimate of the final construction cost, on a section-by-section basis, because
3) Also survey every section for number of immigrants crossing it, so that construction can be prioritized by need, by effectiveness at stopping them; this will require
4) On a spot-basis, very tight active enforcement (i.e. lots of border patrols and deputized contractors and drones, etc)...the brief "no sparrow shall fall" surveillance of each 50-mile section will give us a count of incoming by area.
Basically, Trump can say its the start of the Wall project, the rest of us know it's a project to prove it expensive and useless.
6
He swanned over to Davos in 2018 thinking to enjoy the glitter and have everyone fawn all over him and tell him how great he was. I vaguely recall he got a bit of a cold shoulder and was not particularly warmly embraced by the global business elite.
4
We're going to have emergency grounds for removal of a president from office very soon. Bring it on, Donnie, and we'll see what happens when you push too far.
5
Trump supporters say Trump is a businessman and will bring business sense to governing. Though the separation of powers vests in the legislature the power of the purse string, Iet's examine the business approach to the border wall. Good businessmen decide on allocating production expenses based upon the theory of marginal productivity.
If we embrace good business practices, hearings should be held to decide if a dollar spent on a wall versus a dollar spent on other choices improves our safety.
Major US cities have 6,000 to 17,000 untested rape kits per major US city. If we spent money for testing, would that help apprehend not only the people Trump abhors, but those who are US born and bred criminals? Trump supporters fear immigrant drunk drivers, so the US government could quadruple the portion of the NHTSA budget for the STEP program to combat DWI and eliminate both immigrants and US born and bred drunks who kill other motorists. Trump fears violent criminals, so fund a fugitive apprehension strike force. Trump fears opioid deaths, so go after McKesson for being the drug dealer who sells hillbilly heroin. No real CEO would shut down his factory just because the Board of Directors did not approve 100 percent of his business plan. Any CEO who did so would be removed by the board of directors, and if the board of directors failed to do so, the shareholders would sue.
Let’s demand that Trump act like a sane, rational businessman, rather than a nut.
9
The track record shows he‘s not even a good businessman. He‘s just has the attributes of a pathological rich kid and a miserable human being. But that’s not the point. Government requires other abilities and skills and thinking. Trump‘s track record shows not only that he doesn’t have the ability or the skill set (in any respect) or even the basic intelligence, for the Job he has but any job in government. And, that he’s totally unsuitable - in any respect.
2
Seriously? Even publishing this idea as remotely palatable gives credibility to the possibility that one of the most reckless, incompetent and irresponsible presidents in history could seize carte blanche to effectuate his bigoted and xenophobic agenda. I cannot conceive that the Founders believed one branch of government could lawfully abdicate its Constitutional role and delegate its job to another branch. If Congress doesn’t appropriate the funds to build a wall, stealing the money to do so under the guise of a patently political “emergency” when one demonstrably does not exist is a clear abuse of power and clearly unlawful. Impeachment should follow and when the Senste declines to convict the Republican party needs to be held accountable.
8
To DJT, if this is so important, then why didn’t you prioritize this wall issue when the Republicans had control of both houses of Congress? Or, is this a convenient political issue to mask your incompetence? How come you didn’t invoke emergency powers when the caravan was coming? Is it all just for show?
6
I just can't trust Mr. Trump to construe his "emergency powers" narrowly. This is a man who is power-hungry as much as he is ego-driven. We cannot give him the opportunity to invoke such powers, but neither can we allow him to build an unnecessary, wasteful and environmentally foolish wall.
5
What Lying King Baby does with his “emergency powers” remains to be seen but I can see some very bleak scenarios for us. Suspension of the Bill of Rights, political roundups, people disappearing?
I can easily see slavish Mitch and the biddable GOP happy to allow this nation to descend into the worst insanity I can ever imagine.
4
If a National Emergency over a medieval wall makes it through the courts, the Democrats should rejoice. In 2010, we can declare gun violence a national emergency.
5
Want a functioning government that truly respects the rule of law, enables all to vote, truly protects our citizens (environment, gun violence, climate change, etc.), offers modern solutions for our modern world?
Vote each and every Republican out of office, from dog-catcher to POTUS. They have continuously demonstrated at local, state and federal levels their gross incompetence in running a government for the people as well as been complicit in the generational destruction of our institutions.
Vote like your life and those of your children depends on it!!!
6
What will be next? Suspending the Constitution and demanding an "enabling act"?
I wonder if a president can be impeached for declaring states of emergency when there are none (?)
6
Banana Republic territory. Mexico needs to build a wall to keep yanks up north!
1
No, there is no emergency. The rate of immigration has declined over the years. Trump failed to declare an emergency last year or the year before. So was he incompetent in the previous years or just a liar today?
The "emergency" is a subterfuge to circumvent the legislature's exclusive constitutional right to control the purse strings. Trump does not have that constitutional right.
His claim, which would usurp Congressional, constitutional prerogative would only create a constitutional emergency.
Trump claimed immigrants were rapists. So take a look at the sexual assault problem.
Women who have victimized - would they prefer that the hundreds of thousands of untested rape kits throughout the country be tested, or have money wasting for a wall that will be like the bridge to nowhere?
I am sure they would rather have the US Government assist in solving crime; thus, preventing future criminal from perpetrating new crimes.
Texas Republican Congressman Will Hurd, an ex CIA officer, who has the most gerrymandered knows the wall is a waste. Texas ranchers do not want access to the Rio Grande blocked. The building of a wall will be stayed in the courts over imminent domain battles. I thought Republicans hated governments that stole private property. Cruz, and Cornyn, where are your principles?
6
It's never a good idea to make promises you can't keep or threats you don't carry out. Just ask any parent. His promise to voters was that Mexico would pay for the wall and luckily, he can keep this part of the promise if he wanted to. He has all kinds of executive power and leverage in foreign policy. He could have made it a specific part of the trade agreement. If we give Mexico any military or economic aid, he could threaten to withhold that or convert it to the wall project. He could make the official border crossings "toll ports" and soon collect enough tolls to build and maintain the wall from Mexican nationals and businesses travelling north. Tax Mexicans, not Americans, to secure the border. They're the ones creating the problems, after all.
1
It's laughable Trump, The Great Negotiator, was offered $25 BIL by the Dems just a year ago in exchange for reconsidering his stance on the dreamers, then reneged on the deal hours later after talking to Scary Steve Miller.
NOW look at him. He wouldn't know how to make a deal if MONTY HALL was holding his hand and telling him what's behind each curtain.
5
So this president with a demonstrably poor grasp of government is willing to flout the U.C. Constitution -- and waste millions of dollars in a certain court fight -- to declare a national emergency to raise a wall no one wants? If there was not yet a cause for impeachment, surely the hour is now at hand. He's proven to be unfit; now we see that he's also a clear danger to our democracy. Congress, when will you act?
5
Good. I hope he does this. It won't sway his hardcore sociopathic base, but maybe the ensuing chaos will help persuade what I suspect is a silent majority of Republicans in both houses, to finally speak up. Because right now it feels like the inmates are running the asylum.
2
What will the next presidential tantrum bring? Will he declare emergency powers when he loses the 2020 election as he declares it rigged? Would the Supreme Court appointed by him declare this justified? Would Republicans led by McConnell go along with this for their own selfish purposes? I do not know if this fear is justified, but with this guy in office, someone who cares nothing for our system of government, but only his own power and ego who knows what may happen. Giving into one tantrum erodes our checks and balances, and with this gone can tyranny be far behind?
Twice now Republicans have attempted to to nullify the power of a branch of government when it has been controlled by Democrats, once with the Merritt Garland affair and now Democrats in the House who have just assumed office. Where will this end.
4
A country's leader declaring an emergency is straight out of the facist playbook as one of the steps taken by leaders throughout history to gain power and bring down democracy. Let's not downplay it as a potential face saving option.
8
Yes, the shutdown crisis would end, but the Constitutional crisis would begin.
1
Any parent knows that when a toddler throws a tantrum if you give in they learn that tantrums are the way to get what they want.
2
The most infuriating part of this debacle is that the media, including NYT, refuses to acknowledge Trump and the right-wing's lunacy.
Does anyone on the right think that the GOP House would have funded the ACA after running against and winning in a landslide?
What possible reason does the right have for expecting the Dems in the House to fund Individual 1's manufactured distraction?
3
If the southern border constitutes an ‘emergency’ that can be resolved by presidential edict, in 2021, with a Democrat in the White House, equally emergencies could be 1) proliferation of handguns, 2) lack of a national health program, 3) environmental and climate damage 4) student debt 5) {fill in you favorite republican blocked initiative}.
Why bother with any future obstructionist Congress in the future. trump will have paved the way around such annoyances.
3
The use of presidential emergency powers for purely political purposes is a moral and Constitutional obscenity. It is perverse even to mention its possible "face-saving" value.
Too many editorials make shocking claims just to drum up readership. I feel very cynical about Mr. Savage's column.
3
I blame both Democrats and the President for this mess. With their childish intransigence they both hold the country hostage to their political agendas.
If I were king and could force them to act the result might look something like: the President gets most of the money he needs for the wall; Congress enacts and the President signs legislation increasing and assigning immigration judges to the border; Congress enacts and the President signs legislation easing the burden of proof to establish grants of asylum; Congress enacts and the President signs legislation providing all necessary resources required to patrol and maintain security along the border; and, Congress enacts and the President signs legislation granting legal status to the so-called Dreamers.
They just need to stop this one-upmanship and step away from this foolishness.
2
Why would SHUT DOWN the government in an emergency?
2
Trump seems paused to appoint himself dictator if the Congress allows him to. It is imperative that we define emergency powers or Trump and all future American wannabe dictators can call anything , no matter how trivial, a "national emergency" and override the Constitution to bend us all to their will.
3
A Democrat should use this same authority in 2021, or whenever one is in the oval office next, to declare an emergency with climate change and put as much money as possible to building green infrastructure, immediately and with no congressional approval. This would accomplish two things: show republicans that their unconstitutional acts have consequences, and this would be a good response to an actual emergency - climate change!
3
What Trump is threatening to do is unquestionably an abuse of emergency powers, no doubt. But perhaps there might be some utility here in focusing attention on the preposterously poorly-designed National Emergencies Act of 1976, under which Congress effectively turned over a number of its Constitutional obligations to the executive branch by creating a virtual vending machine for extraordinary powers.
It seems that the very least thing that ought to be done would be to alter the law so that any emergency declaration made under this Act would lapse if not explicitly approved by Congress every 30 days or so. This would leave effective executive responsiveness unchallenged, but would force Congress to perform its Constitutionally-mandated functions.
One might hope that the Supreme Court might find the 1976 law unconstitutional in itself if challenged, but Congress created this mess and a new Congress can fix it.
5
Here is a way out: Reopen the government including funding for all of the border security needs that have bipartisan support...which are many. Fund a bipartisan study on additional border security measures which would be effective for each of the threats at our borders...all our borders. What deterrent would be effective for drug smuggling and human trafficking. What measures would be humane and timely for dealing with asylum seekers, and so on. The specific issue of barriers would be studied: are they effective for the specific threats; are there particular areas already fenced that would be more effective with a different type of structure; are there areas currently fenced that do not need to be; are there areas that could be fenced to effectively improve security for a defined threat.
This would give everyone "cover" and dial back the exaggerations and misinformation to perhaps really improve our security...and civil discourse.
4
There certainly is a way to resolve this without constitutional crisis. Here's how, and it's called democracy: if you want something, you either need a majority of like minded people, or you negotiate a deal. It used to happen all the time.
I am certain that Chuck and Nancy would be willing to release $5B for a wall, given something big that *they* want. Comprehensive immigration reform?
Medicare for everyone over 40?
Meaningful gun control?
Clean energy mandates?
Let's make a deal!
2
Why did the need for a wall suddenly become an emergency in December 2018? Because Democrats won the House in November.
If the need was so urgent, why did he not persuade both houses of Congress, held by Republicans, to fund his precious wall in the 23 preceding months? Two reasons: because he couldn’t even get his servile followers to vote for it and because it was not and is not an emergency.
4
Can we stop letting this madman do whatever he wants?
He doesn’t have unlimited powers, and we need real leaders to step up and push back.
The lesson from the recession of 2008 was that there is no one stopping anyone who has has no ethics.
We know that Mitch McConnell has been betraying the country for personal gain for as long as he has been in office, and he knows that no one will stop him, so why not?
Lets return to the rule of law and accountability.
If people know that there are consequences, maybe they might think twice.
4
So Mitch when the next president in 2020 declares a national emergency in healthcare and opens up Medicare for all you will say well it's his right as president?
2
If there even a chance of reasonable litigation over whether a President can invoke emergency powers over such a bogus issue it is an indication that the statutory support and inhibitions concerning Constitutionally provided emergency powers are far too weak and ill-defined. Better that this is demonstrated to us by the floundering efforts of a blustering, weak, and weak-minded President than by the purposeful employment of emergency powers by some later shrewd President of equally ill intent. That gives the country a better chance to first defeat the current challenge to reason and later correct the statutory deficiencies.
2
I know Mr Trump and logic are not a match made in heaven, but... Assuming he really thinks he can bypass Congress altogether and get his wall, why on earth doesn't he signal his desire to restart the government right now, no strings attached, and if he can't get Congress to (separately) fund the wall, then invoke whatever powers he thinks he has.
1
Donald Trump has been “doing a national emergency” ever since he he declared himself a candidate for the Presidency. No need to declare one, we are all already very much aware of the national emergency his Presidency represents.
2
"'If there is not...a persuasive basis for this being...[a] national emergency...and it is nevertheless approved by the Department of Justice, what is the rule-of-law cost?'...Mr. Dellinger said. 'One question is whether there is some other way out of this current mess that doesn’t involve such a cost to the rule of law.'”
Yes, there is a simple way out this "current mess":
Republicans in Congress and the electorate can tell Trump that they will not support him if he violates the U.S. Constitution and its balancing of branches of govt. by invoking emergency powers.
But Republicans in and out of Congress will not do that because they are getting the legislation they want under Trump, and value that above any other consideration...like consideration of democracy or America, for example.
1
Trump claims he "didn't want this fight," but in fact he did. That's why he backed out of more than one deal over DACA and the wall.
If he couldn't get a Republican-controlled Congress to do his bidding during the last two years, why on earth would he think a divided Congress would do it?
Meanwhile, McConnell refuses to hold a vote to open the government despite the fact that the Senate unanimously passed such a bill at the end of December. That amounts to holding Congress hostage to Trump just as federal agencies and workers are being held hostage.
This grandstanding is outrageous. The "unreasonable" people are Republican.
5
I think it's a great idea to take the $5.7 billion out of the military's budget. As is typical of Republican presidents, Trump opened the government checkbook to give the military anything they want 2 years ago. So what's the difference between building a useless wall versus buying more tanks, planes, ammo, etc. that are also useless since we'll never use them in a war ? Sure the military will complain since no one wants to lose money but so what ? This way the rest of the government gets reopened, and the net net effect is more blown taxpayer money on one more useless project. Win - Win.
He'll call a national emergency, receive praise from his supporters for doing what they believe needs to be done and for stopping the shutdown (once it becomes the longest in our history), and if no wall is ever built he will blame that on his opponents.
#ITMFA
1
"Violate constitutional norms"? I think at this point we are way beyond that. POTUS seems to be able to do anything he wants, and get away with it.
1
I would not worry much. The Dems should take Trump's emergency measures as a win because they did not give in and Trump was forced to sign their bills. The courts will not give Trump a win and the Dems can still present this as a loss because of no wall. Pelosi should do a Kellyanne and taunt the President about the wall after the emergency measures since there still be no wall. You can never spin a loss into a win.
2
The optics of Trump amidst luxurious excess while federal workers go hungry and bankrupt would be dreadful. Add in a smile for Putin or the Saudis and I am sure his PR people were screaming for him to stay home and deal with his national emergency at the border.
This vile excuse for president is a national emergency in himself.
20
This so-called human currently occupying the White House is not a true and honest American President, but rather a Russian Plant who seems determined to destroy our democracy. The only thing holding us together right now are the Democrats, the Resistance and the Courts. I'm praying with all my might that they continue to stand strong against this animal until he is properly impeached, indicted and incarcerated, along with the rest of his repulsive criminal family.
5
One of the first things Hitler did after attaining office was to declare a state of emergency, concentrating power in the executive. We all know how well that turned out.
14
The presidential power to declare a national emergency was passed by Congress and stems from the possibility that a crisis is underway with not enough time for the Congress to act to give the President the power he needs to take action. In this case, he says he's waiting for Congress to act in the way he wants. Therefore, he's undermined any argument that a national emergency is taking place.
And let's be honest about his supporters. They simply don't want people of color to come to this country, only people from, say, Norway.
6
Why does anyone think this is new or that it will work? Remember DACA the executive order that circumvented congress? It's been litigated in the courts for years. Remember the Travel Ban that was stopped by the courts? And the second travel ban that was also stopped by the courts?
This is just typical Trump modus operandi, begin with intimidation, when that doesn't work - litigate. During the litigation process, settle
3
And to think that we had a bipartisan agreement to keep the government open. We are at a sorry place in our democracy when extremist media talk show hosts are able to hijack decision making because of their ability to scare this president. In the same way, the NRA successfully turned Trump back to their side after a momentary lapse in his fidelity by stating his support for some reasonable gun control measures. He scares people and is easily scared.
And now the likelihood of taking action based on a National Security emergency? This will be interpreted by his supporters as a sign of strength ("we won" ) but the history laid out in this article is that it is really one more sign of a very weak presidency.
3
Absolutely not. If I were him I wouldn’t do it. If he does it, I would look to the House to impeach him over the misuse of Presidential powers. There is no emergency. He has no basis to declare one. To do so because he can’t get his way is not democracy. It’s dictatorship. A majority of people in this country do not want a wall. Through our representatives, we have our voices heard. If Trump circumvents that process, you may as well toss the Constitution.
5
What is a constitutional norm? That feels like a constructed phrase to fit a point of view. Either something is adjudicated as constitutional or it isn't. Trump's actions may violate political norms but one sues, as certainly will happen should he invoke emergency powers for his wall, because a law or regulation or rule has been violated.
1
That this article even appears in print indicates just how far down the rabbit hole we've already fallen. We were supposed to be a beacon of democracy for the world; however, instead of the world becoming more like US, we have become more like the rest of the world. Now, we are No. 1 in nothing that isn't material.
2
@Anthony Adverse Democracy has clearly failed in the US. Time to look for a better model.
President Obama declared National emergencies 13 times. ten of those Obama declarations are still in force today. There are 30 declared national emergencies still in force declared by prior Presidents. That still makes them rare but hardly unusual.
2
No truly great leader would ever blame others, declare a state of emergency where none exists, or promote the suffering of any of his (or her) fellow citizens by holding as hostage federal relief to any state, or the salaries of federal employees over his desire for a monument and re-election. That's all I have to say about it.
5
The true national emergency is what Trump and the Republicans are willing to do to the country when Trump doesn't get his way. Hold firm, Speaker Pelosi and Sen. Schumer.
5
A National Emergency must declared. I support the President. I support Trump. Thank you.
5
"Both sides have taken absolutist positions that leave no room for the kind of split-the-difference compromise that usually ends budget impasses." I do not understand why the Times portrays the denial of $5B for what would surely be an economic, environmental, and legal disaster as "absolutist". The utter uselessness of this wall is obvious, and Trump has admitted that declaring an "emergency" is only a device for him to get his way. Enough with the "Both sides ..." nonsense.
4
@Rolf Arvidson The wall at the Vatican works. The wall at Disneyland works. But a wall near urban areas on the Southern border won't work?
We have not one Republican in Congress who will speak up for the Constitution they promised to uphold. Disgraceful plunge for a party supposed to protect Americans.
4
Trump has found his Reichstag Fire.
9
There are times the news tries to equalize that which is not equal. The Dems do not need to save face. They are doing what the majority of Americans agree with, not spending Americans' tax dollars on an unnecessary wall. Resulting legal action if the emergency powers act is invoked will only cost the taxpayer more money and further destroy our rule of law.
10
You really have to wonder what it will take for the GOP to act for the good of the country. Humpty Trumpty is the end result of the corruption of the Republican Party. This non emergency , Russian election conspiracy
scandals, fat cat tax cuts, attacks on health care- there is no end to their perfidy. Dems must stay strong and defeat this evil.
3
I immigrated (yes, legally) from a Third World country. There, El Presidente would declare a State of Emergency when he wanted something his way (take over a bank, fire the Supreme Court, etc.).
Today I live in The United States. A Third World country where El Presidente declares a State of Emergency when he wants something his way.
19
Bottom line: Trump's disastrous leadership is so bad that the only fix is to make things even worse. Wow.
6
“Overreach” barely describes Trump’s lack of knowledge about his authority.
I now want the Wall.
Around him.
11
Forgotten and unasked in all this wall nonsense is WHY did Trump say he'd approve the budget plan McConnell was ready to submit it December?
O yeah:
Because Hannity and Coulter and Limbaugh told him NOT to.
The TeeVee told him.
That is the real problem and the press needs to hit this every day.
13
"We’re going to be in 2020 before this gets resolved,” said Walter E. Dellinger III, a former solicitor general in the Clinton administration, adding: “If they are just planning where to build slats, judges are unlikely to decide that requires expedition in the Supreme Court. I think they would recognize the wisdom of going slow.”
I wouldn't take Dellinger's opinion as gospel. The courts may see the wisdom in protecting Congress and the American people from the whims of a tyrant before, rather than later.
Joseph in Missoula
4
There is a constitutional way of ending this "crisis". The Senate pass the spending bills approved by the House, and then override ddt's (destructive donald t) veto. Declaring an emergency by ddt highlights the failure of congressional Republicans to take their oath of office seriously and defend the Constitution. Their abdication of responsibility is appalling. Hopefully, at the next election, the American people will remember the Republicans spinelessness, their political cowardice and vote them out of office.
11
Chuck and Nancy came off looking like two clowns during their response. 1000 memes were launched before they were even finished speaking. Trump is winning this fight so why should he shoot himself in the foot by declaring an emergency? That just let's Nancy off the hook. She will die on that hook if he doesn't let her off of it. He might die too but he hasn't been a politician all his life has he? Here is a way you will know. If he is defeated in the Primary in 2020, this fight kills him. If he isn't defeated in the Primary, no one the Dems put up has a chance to beat him.
1
God forbid that we should have a real emergency in this country because if Trump thinks that immigrants seeking asylum are a threat what would he do if real 9/11 terrorists showed up.
The very last thing that should have been done, if Trump truly thought there was an emergency, was to shut down the government.
These people need to be back at their jobs ASAP.
6
Enough already. The Democratic majority House should vote to impeach, regardless the Senate won’t to convict. Perverting emergency powers as an executive parliamentary ploy to circumvent the Constitutional power of Congress to appropriate funds smacks of kingship! Trump refused to sign appropriations that passed the House and overwhelmingly in the Senate, all because he demands to add a new spending rider of 5.7 billion for a wall project that has never passed Congress, otherwise. This is categorically out of bounds. Trump and the GOP have chosen to default 25% government agencies, including 800k employees, plus 500k contractors (most of whom, we’re told, won’t receive backpay), all of which are previously and separately legislated and budgeted spending, in a hostage-taking ploy in order to force Democrats to take the highly irregular step of adding a completely new and unapproved spending element to what should be routine funding appropriations for the 25% of our government spending that has already passed Congress in many other separate pieces of legislation that obligate that spending and, thus, inclusion in funding appropriations. What Trump and the GOP couldn’t pass through Congress, on its and their own merit, they now want to default our government for, and now for Trump to be a king and take what he wants.
4
American democracy was gone the minute Trump took office with the covert aid and assistance of a foreign power. Incredibly, we are now two years in with a Russian asset still in the White House and likely to remain there for at least the next two years. Talk all you want about the Mueller probe and the resiliency of our constitutional system, it’s all over but the shouting and the damage has been done. American exceptionalism is so well done that a fork would melt the minute you stick it into the over-cooked meat that our system of laws have become.
2
Can you imagine the Republicans' reaction if a Democratic president says climate change is a national emergency and invokes emergency powers to reduce greenhouse gasses?
5
Unfortunately, Trump is going to win this fight because of Democrats arrogance and ineptitude. In the last 24 hours he successfully portrayed the Democrats as unwilling to compromise.
Pelosi said a wall is an "immorality" - She can't go back now and agree to another 200 miles of fencing. Everyone talks about how experienced and savvy she is.. perhaps back in the day.. but this is 2019 and the political landscape has changed drastically in the last 2 years-- 1990's era tactics won't work anymore. Just as Hillary!
1
If the President can invoke a national emergency to do something like this, then "Congress" is a hollow concept. We will be left with electing a dictator every four years - or until the duly-elected dictator cancels future elections due to an "ongoing national emergency."
3
“My threshold will be if I can’t make a deal with people that are unreasonable.”
And there it is, in a nutshell. Trump is the arbiter of reasonableness. People who see things differently from Trump are unreasonable--not mistaken, mind you--unreasonable.
With that self-view, Trump is psychologically unable to compromise. Anyone who disagrees with him must be unreasonable, crazy, or in bad faith. "My way or the highway"--hardly a characteristic of a leader; more a characteristic of a two-year-old having, as Senator Schumer noted, "a temper tantrum."
If one looks at it carefully, Trump's entire life has been a temper tantrum.
4
He won't be satisfied until he's declared president-for-life, like Idi Amin, and installed on a peacock throne, like the Shah of Iran. It may happen sooner than we think if Mitch McCoward and other Republican senators continue to hide under their desks. But he would do well to remember what happened to Idi and the shah.
3
So this makes a good news story? Despite the fact that there is no legal precedent for declaring a national emergency under circumstances such as these and the supposition that declaring a national emergency would allow him to appropriate funds designated for other uses is speculative? Reporting such assertions as if they are just in the normal course of presidential business and as likely as not to result in what this president wants is a disservice to readers. Whatever crazy he does or may do that his followers may relish does not warrant the gravitas of seemingly measured reporting by the NYT’s. Even prior to a court ruling or the weighing in of pundits, fair reporting should emphasize the extreme deviation from legal and non-legal precedents that this is. To do otherwise is to normalize and gradually, incrementally make the wild whims and wants of the current president backed by a lap-dog GOP who are degrading and dismantling our democracy seem less like they are doing so.
2
Knowing his history of corruption, why do I get the feeling that he or his oothecae are personally enriching themselves from this wall "deal." The resulting precedent here should not be the lower threshold for invoking emergency powers, but the incarceration of a corrupt president.
3
For me the real problem is Congress. This is not about the "Wall" but about politics. The Democrats despise Trump and do not want him to get any of his agenda through if they can help it. This is a perfect issue for them to "take a stand." However, it doesn't help our country when we do, in fact, have a crisis at our borders. Our borders need to be protected. But I agree with the writer that this will be tied up in court throughout the rest of Trump's term. The "Wall" will never be built in the way Donald Trump wants it to be.
Congress, however, needs to legislate. Our borders are porous and need protections. It seems to me Democrats use this issue to their detriment. Not everyone in this country thinks like them. There are middle-of-the-road people who believe in border security. The Democrats believe in it as well, or at least they have said they do.
They need to prove it.
1
After 1830, stockade forts were abandoned on the frontier.
1
As someone who voted Trump president to build the wall, among his other clear campaign promises, I believe that the losing party and their propaganda machine aka MSN, are stealing the outcome my vote, about how the communists stole the outcome of the post WWII elections in Eastern Europe, where I was born and from where I immigrated LEGALLY, decades ago, to the US. I really hope the President will declare National Emergency asap and built a wall in equipped with built-in alarms, cameras, and motion sensors. Something akin to what Nancy Pelosi has around her mansion.
2
Yes Trump has the power to declare a national emergency and transfer half the treasury funds to Ivanka for safe keeping and shut down the internet where critical comments of him appear. That is what a dictator does like Putin his hero and boss do all the time that is his dream position America;s first dictator for life with mega billions for the Trump family tax free of course.
2
Why is the law even constitutional?
1
2020- National Emergency can be gun violence.
4
Remember the myth of Phaethon? Young fellow that got permission from Apollo (his father) to drive the sun's chariot across the sky.
It didn't go well.
Long before that dreadful day ended, half the earth was on fire. Jupiter himself (eventually) mounted the battlements of heaven and sent his thunderbolt streaking across the sky--
--and poor Phaethon went down in ruin.
The earth had to be saved from burning up. This was the only way.
The Trump presidency reminds me of this poor guy.
Vividly.
The man doesn't know what he's doing. Or DOES know--and doesn't CARE. As (like the chariot of the sun) we go veering precipitously into this or that uncharted region--hanging on for dear life--and wondering how all this is gonna end.
Will the courts take action? Will Mr. Mueller's investigation (long before they do) come up with some egregious violation of public faith? I don't think, New York Times, you know any better than I do.
No one knows.
We're just along for the ride.
And what a ride!
Wish it were over.
But it's not. Not yet. Not for a while.
Maybe.
2
Oh, really, get a grip.
Thomas Jefferson did the Louisiana Purchase and Seward bought Alaska, more or less over the objections of Congress.
Can it be that we can see things more clearly from up here in New Hampshire than you can down in the muck of WDC ?
Trump will use military funding to build his fake wall and call it a triumph. Rep. Pelosi can say, "I had nothing to do with this nonsense."
And life moves on.
And as for Mexico paying for it? Well, can't you see they already have when they
1/ Signed USMC (A)--somehow
2/ Bought our soybeans.
3/ Sent products north where tariffs got paid by US taxpayers?
We are all winning so much we are getting bored.
Well, we are bored, but not by winning.
His act grows old.
And, oh, Ms. Pelosi, don't go to any more WH meetings so you can be a stage prop for his self dramatization.
1
To the Republicans in the Senate: You and Trump own this shutdown. If Mitch McConnell refuses to do his job, please elect a different leader and reopen the government, without squandering taxpayers' money on an absurd wall. Congress has the ability to pass legislation without a presidential signature. Stop kowtowing to Trump, kick McConnell to the back bench, and do your jobs!
2
Seems to me that invoking/declaring a national emergency for political purposes is a high crime and misdemeanor. Trump is a threat to our American democracy and this is just one more example.
1
More false equivalence. "Both have taken absolutist positions." Once again, this is wrong. Democrats has put a solution on the table to give Trump his 5.7 billion -- the dreamers for the wall --and he shot it down. Stop trying to lay the blame for this debacle at Pelosi's feet.
Trump said today, "I'll declare a national emergency if I have to."
He is talking about the future and it's just another way of saying that a national emergency does not now exist. If he invokes emergency powers a week or two down the road, he'll have to explain what happened at the border between today and then to justify his action.
5
I'm starting to come around to the logic espoused here: Trump declares a state of emergency but signs legislation to fund the government while his declaration winds its way through the courts.
That said - and speaking as a lawyer with an extensive background in constitutional law - I strongly disagree with the claims that Trump has any sort of "serious" legal argument that he has the authority to declare such an emergency. Both of the laws Trump could theoretically invoke would require deployment of the Armed Forces to construct the wall. Such deployments are categorically barred by the Constitution, which prohibits the use of American troops on U.S. soil, and the laws passed that would supersede this constitutional dictum have never previously been invoked -- given their unambiguous intent of being employed in the event of a bona fide national emergency (which the border situation is not).
I find it exceptionally difficult to believe the U.S. Supreme Court, even with its conservative majority, would ever permit such a brazen abuse of both executive authority and 220+ years of separation-of-powers precedent. Trump's move would thus almost certainly be doomed to fail, but nonetheless allow him to save face with his base (and also quickly end the shutdown in the process).
11
@Jeff the question is time. Suppose the Court did not rule during Trump's first term?
I'm trying to imagine (it's not difficult) how the Republicans in Congress would have reacted if Barack Obama had declared a national emergency in order to accomplish some policy or budgetary goal which was important to his "base" but which was being thwarted by a Republican majority in either house. (And he was indeed thwarted, many times.)
I think it's safe to say that Republicans would have responded to the Obama-declared phony national "emergency" by going apoplectic and issuing many florid pronouncements about the importance of tradition, the majesty of the Constitution, and the essential need for the rule of law.
But what will they do if the Current Occupant declares a Trumped-up national emergency to satisfy his edifice complex?
I think it's safe to say they'll fall in line. Just as they have been throughout this incumbency.
It'll be a case of Custom and Rule of Law for Thee, but The Ends Justify the Means for Me.
7
the Democrats have an opportunity to do the nation a great service
First they should diligently find ways to make clear to the broad public that: walls, fences etc. have nothing to do with the drug problem or terrorism
Next they should propose a series of compromises:
1. 1B$ extra for border security to be used to upgrade, repair etc. existing barriers / fences with the proviso that no new funds would be requested until a comprehensive plan is presented to Congress with a competent analysis of proposed impacts - many of which are discussed in this article
2. 2B$ with the same requirements as above + full protection for DACA young people
the numbers dates etc. can be adjusted but the basic outline has to be preserved
This is not what I would personally prefer but it has the hope preserving American democracy
2
If I understand Trump’s thinking, he could declare health care a ‘national emergency’ and then pay for Medicare For All from the military budget. I like it. (D) President 2020 should keep it in mind.
1
Interesting precedent. Using emergency powers for a political purpose. Hopefully the next Democratic President will remember this and declare our health care system an emergency.
6
“Both sides have taken absolutist positions,” is just not true. The Dems have proposed less money than Trump wanted, and the Republicans have proposed not one other option. The only absolutists are Trump & the Republican Party, which see no way but their own. And if this is such an “emergency” then why is this being dragged out? Why didn’t the Republicans vote for the wall a month ago when they had absolute control of Congress?
7
If Trump weaponizes what he calls his "absolute right to declare a national emergency," subsequent presidents will be able to use that as a precedent. As even Fox News has stated, a Democratic president might even declare a national emergency about the climate crisis which Fox regards as illegitimate because it only threatens the survival of the human race with the exception of Americans.
Trump has declared any number of other "absolute rights" which belong to him: the absolute right to share information with Putin, the absolute right to pardon himself in addition to his family and various criminals such as an aged, law-breaking sheriff in Arizona, and several other "absolute rights." Video clips of his asserting these rights can be found on YouTube.
Since when could a President of the USA claim absolute anything? The founders of the USA wrote the Constitution specifically to prevent absolutist corruptions of democratic government, to prevent the rise of an absolutist King in the USA. There was, after all, an American revolution against a demented English monarch who claimed he could absolutely do whatever he wanted with his colonies.
Donald Trump's claims of absolute power are alone adequate reason to impeach him or otherwise force him out of office. He has proven time after time to be the biggest security risk presently facing America and the world.
2
If given a choice of allowing POTUS to declare an emergency or give in to the demand for a wall, I reckon people will choose the wall. I don't agree with it but I am guessing that would be the result.
1
Never!!!
2
We need to remember how insane this is but also where the blame properly lies. This shutdown is entirely the result of actions by the Republican President and his party of enablers.
They are requesting funding without providing any details as to how the funds are to be used or any studies to show how feasible such a project would be and how effective it would be, or even if it’s necessary.
The Democrats have no choice but to deny funds for a wall when no plan has been presented. The Republicans have had two years to get this done while they possessed majorities in both houses of the legislature.
The request by the Republican Presuandchus supporters is totally unreasonable. It should be remembered that the President was ejected by s majority of electoral college votes, but a significant percentage of the total US population did not vote for him. The Republicans do not have a mandate.
A declaration of emergency to end the shutdown is not face saving for the Democrats. They are the sensible ones here and they have no reason to feel at fault. It’s not face saving for the Republicans either. In fact it would bring them further shame for their continual attack on the basic institutions of this Republic.
These are frightening times not only because of the troubling events, but also because the truth is being twisted beyond recognition thanks to articles like this that portray this as a political problem of both parties.
5
If you review the 58 instances of "national emergencies" declared since 1976, the great majority are matters involving people who are outside the country, and blocking their property and/or themselves from entering the U.S. for one reason or another. Frankly, the list doesn't make you think of big-scale national emergencies. It reads more like targeting particular bad actors.
https://www.brennancenter.org/sites/default/files/analysis/NEA%20Declarations.pdf
The general concept of blocking property and people doesn't seem all that far afield from the border security questions at stake here. Presumably those other blockages required funding to implement, and nobody seemed to get worked up about that. Maybe this is a bigger degree of cost, but if funds had already been authorized for general military or homeland security construction projects, it would seem plausible to shift those funds to emergency use without a constitutional fuss.
I am skeptical that this would easily be hung up in the courts.
Another abuse of power by Trump in addition to the long list -- including the recently revealed Madrid sharing of campaign data between his campaign chief Manafort and Kilimnik -- adds to potential grounds for impeachment.
Mexico is a good neighbor and partner of the United States. Refugees are not breaking the law when they seek asylum.
This declaration of an emergency to reallocate military funds takes those funds away from actual threats to the country. Right now, the Coast Guard, Secret Service, TSA agents, and numerous others who defend this country from terrorists and attacks are going without pay.
Trump won't stop this. His demands will continue. They will escalate. Republicans will never challenge him and have abdicated their Constitutional responsibilities. Fox propaganda will support him. Trump has his template now in his contrived dictatorial "security" excuses to get his way.
1
10 USC 2808 prvides in part that under a state of emergency the President "may undertake military construction projects, and may authorize the Secretaries of the military departments to undertake military construction projects, not otherwise authorized by law that are necessary to support such use of the armed forces. Such projects may be undertaken only within the total amount of funds that have been appropriated for military construction, including funds appropriated for family housing, that have not been obligated." Quite a stretch to get to a wall under this law. It's not a military construction project and there's no use of the armed forces to support. The financial part is interesting; I've no idea how much slush lies within the military construction budget.
2
What will the wall even look like? First we invoke the emergency powers, and then we come up with a plan?
Speak first, think later. I suppose that's par for the Trump course.
1
What is the current cost to the rule of law by Trump?No doubt he can do further damage but how much further damage is necessary?Does 'Truth" no longer have anything to do with the rule of law? What further evidence is required to disqualify this individual ? Can he only be voted out of office? What kind of broken and disfunctional government have we created?
1
Declaring a national emergency in this case would be an egregious abuse of power and create a slippery slope that would endanger the future of democracy. Emergency powers were never intended to be used to rescue presidents from mere political predicaments.
2
Lowering the bar to the extent DJT wants to in declaring a national emergency, endangers all US citizens, as the same obfuscation can lead to a threat to all of us.
He may invoke “national emergency” and that may get the government open but this wall fight will end up in the courts and hopefully not be resolved until he is out of office which considering his legal issues might be soon.
1
I have never ventured near the southwestern border of the United States. I do not know how easy or difficult it is for the illegals to cross this border. It is clear, however, that over 10 million illegals managed to cross it without being caught.
So, something needs to be done.
Even one illegal crossing is too many. It is a dereliction of duty for a powerful country that maintains dozens of military bases in foreign countries but leaves its own borders unguarded.
Trump's idea of building a wall may not be too far-fetched. What is far-fetched is that he got himself elected by promising to make Mexico pay for it. How many people would not have voted for him had he not made that false promise? It could be said that he got himself elected by making a phony promise; and a lot of credulous voters believed him.
Having failed to make Mexico pay for the wall, Mr. Trump now turns around and asks the taxpayer to pay for it. Is that how an honorable President of the United States should govern? He ought to stick to what he promised in his campaign.
@ALM
"It is clear, however, that over 10 million illegals managed to cross it without being caught."
Please cite any source for this.
The vast majority of undocumented immigrants enter legally and overstay their visa.
Please don't buy into the fake GOP/Fox Snooze framing on this - or any - issue.
There is no crisis. "In 2016, unauthorized immigrant adults had lived in the U.S. for a median of 14.8 years, meaning that half had been in the country at least that long."
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/11/28/5-facts-about-illegal-immigration-in-the-u-s/
2
Congress can declare a Presidential state of emergency invalid by joint resolution. Will McConnell finally grow a spine?
It is amazing that when a progressive candidate suggests something that would help almost every American, like, say Medicare for All (and, incidentally, save lives), the first thing out of Republican mouths is "How you gonna pay for it?" But we have no idea how much this wall would cost to complete and maintain in perpetuity. $5.7 billion is just the front-end price and probably just pulled out of a hat. This whole thing is insane and an insult to taxpayers everywhere. The president should either do it through Congress with facts and figures, hearings and transparency so citizens can weigh in on it or move on to fulfill his other promises. I'm still waiting on "better, cheaper" health insurance and lower drug prices.
3
“My threshold will be if I can’t make a deal with people that are unreasonable.”
If this is your "threshold" for declaring a national emergency then its OBVIOUSLY NOT AN EMERGENCY...
1
If the President can declare an emergency to build a wall without legislation, what is to prevent a future President from declaring an emergency to enact any other program that he or she deems necessary. Someday, a democratic president will declare a “health care emergency” and enact Medicare for All by fiat. Why not?
1
Republicans will want this up to the instant they get it, just like everything else. I fail to understand why so millions of people refuse to recognize the behavior pattern.
Immigration is only a concern to the uneducated.
Trump wants "Abuse of office." to be the first item in the Articles of Impeachment. Number two is, of course "Obstruction of Justice". Number three "Accepting Emoluments from Foreign Governments". There's plenty of evidence for all three charges.
1
Apparently only 0.5% of the 800000 federal workers who are not getting paid filed for unemployment benefits. The numbers came in slightly below estimates today, but did not account for almost all of these 800K workers who are in limbo.
This also means that the statistics of 312K newly empolyed which came out a couple of days ago and goosed the market's upward recovery trajectory did not account for the shutdown, and the many contractors and folks with small businesses whose jobs and livelihoods and businesses depend on the federal workforce doing its job.
Which means we are living in a fog of lies and uncertainties, all produced courtesy of the White House's continuing disinformation campaign.
It's all of a single piece, to wit, this administration aims to disposes us of our democracy - of our power to make decisions for ourselves, to have the nation be the way we want it to be, to have laws and processes that respect all life, not just the unborn, that care about the future for all of us left on the planet when the Pompeo crowd gets its wished for "rapture" off the planet. Trump hisself has admitted that he doesn't care about future deficits, because the effects of bankrupting the government won't be felt when he is no longer president.
A declaration of emergency when there is none is the final bridge to dictatorship. And the R's who support it apparently hate democracy enough to support it. The Senate R's are the only ones with the direct power to stop it.
"the budget standoff between the president and congressional Democrats that has prompted a partial government shutdown"
Hmmm. The shut down is in day 20.
Democrats have been in power in the House for less than 6 full days, and have already passed at least four bills to reopen all or part of the government.
How were Democrats in any way part of what "prompted" or even in any way what continues this Trump/McConnell (and Ryan) shutdown?
4
The shutdown was created by Trump, and perpetuated for nearly two weeks by a completely REPUBLICAN Congress. The only reason it isn't over by now is because McConnell is an invertebrate. There must be no wall, and Trump's belief that he has an absolute right to control the purse strings must be flatly rejected by the courts.
7
The criminal negligence of our politicians and their elite constituents is breathtakingly on display now for the entire world to see. Funny though it has been there since the 80s when the business culture of the nation succumbed to cultish hyper libertarian economics and subsequently acquired a fetish for maximum shareholder profit no matter what the social costs which were always predictably bad. A race to the bottom with perpetual cheap third world labor will finish with the circling down the drain of the upper middle class in the coming decades thanks to automation. Of course America and the rest of the West deserves what it gets because it was all so predictable.
8
You certainly have to hand it to Donald Trump, though.
No one's talking about Kashoggi, Michael Cohen, Mike Flynn, his drubbing in the midterms....the recent Manafort story was HUGE, but was relegated to page 17.
The Psychotoddler-in-Chief (cribbed from another comment) sure knows how to manipulate the media.
Note to Democrats: NOT.ONE.PENNY.
NOT my president
33
But shutdown or not, Mr. Mueller is on the job and is not distracted!
1
It's been said by many but it bears repeating---like a warning in the night that we face immediate and grave danger--We do face a serious and existential national emergency---but not at the southern border , not at any of the borders, but rather in our failing government, mainly in the failed "leader" of our government. Real danger to our traditions , to our norms, to our civilization from this misfit that has been given more power than he can handle and lusts for more .
21
Substitute "King George" for Trump and then ask if this is really what the Founders wanted?
15
Trump thinks that national emergency funds are like a rainy day fund. In his twisted mind, both can be used when the source of usual income is not available and, just like a rainy day fund may be used even when it is not actually raining, national emergency funds may be used even when there is no actual emergency.
Somebody needs to set him straight.
8
I cannot believe that the American people would be okay with circumventing the constitution to secure the political future of this demagogue. We all know there is no national emergency. If this illegal and immoral wall is built by this method our constitution isn't worth the paper it's printed on and our system of government is doomed. We will then be classified as a dictatorship and apparently republican voters would be okay with that. That would be very disturbing.
241
@CR Hare right now, I would say that at least 65% of us are not. Now if you asked the same question 3 years ago, I would say you would have gotten a 95-98% not ok with it.
5
@CR Hare
"We will then be classified as a dictatorship and apparently republican voters would be okay with that. That would be very disturbing. "
I'm afraid there is no reason to think that Republicans in Congress and the electorate are anything other than okay with making a joke of "emergency powers," as disturbing as that may be...
7
@CR Hare If you think Joe Sixpack will get upset about the invocation of emergency powers, I have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you.
3
So what if it does "involve such a cost to the rule of law?"
Where's the evidence that Donald cares about that?
5
Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer and their fellow Democrats are all that is preventing the United States from descending fully into the autocratic, fascist state that Trump is trying his hardest to create. We are not being protected by the boot-licking Republican controlled Senate, nor by the partisan Kavanaugh Supreme Court. Remain strong and faithful to the US Constitution, Nancy and Chuck. Be our heroes. History and the rest of Western civilization will judge you.
29
@LNW My husband, a lifelong dyed in the wool Republican, shocked me over the weekend by saying, "Thank God for Nancy Pelosi. She's doing the right thing for the country."
I'm sure he's not the only Republican who is saying that.
Perhaps some of them are even in Congress and the Senate.
2
Stop right there. The president does not have any "absolute rights." He has a lot of powers and authorities, but he should still be held accountable for their reasonable and justifiable use. This particular president, with his limited understanding of the Constitution and authoritarian tendencies, should be reminded over and over that Congress has the power to impeach him for any abuse of power, including the power to declare a national emergency. Declaring a national emergency on spurious grounds just to circumvent Congress and its constitutional control of the pursestrings is an impeachable offense. Got it?
14
@Ponderer
It absolutely is an impeachable offense, agree with you completely. The problem is the Rs control the Senate and they won't vote to impeach, unless he launched a nuke. And even then.... they'd probably yawn.
1
Can we please have a thorough espose of McConnell?
18
I have commented before to articles reporting on the Trump folly of wanting to build a wall with a downpayment of $5.7B (note, downpayment since a structure of whatever material will cost upwards of $30B). And those in the Senate, with McConnell at its head, remain impotent, yes, impotent, as if paralyzed by the hand of Trump. Trump has become an autocrat, a tyrant and we, the majority of Americans, need to see relief from his idiocy ASAP! We want our country back!! Pelosi and Shumer are spot on in describing Trump's petulance, and so is Sen. Durbin (D-Il.), one of my US state senators for whom I have the highest regard. 800,000 of my fellow Americans, including one relative, are suffering through Trump's lie of claiming a crisis and through his belief that he should declare a national emergency (based on a lie), all so that he can continue the government shutdown. Let him make the declaration! And then let him get nailed in our federal courts. And lest we not forget the Mueller investigation. If there is a noose to be placed around Trump's neck for what he has done to our country, let it be SC Mueller and his investigation that "hangs" Trump---hook, line and sinker.
10
So declaring a state of emergency (over a situation that is the same as it was two years ago) would be a face-saving measure?
Sure, apart from Trump shutting down the government for what turned out to be absolutely no reason. But face-saving, ok, if you say so.
2
This is EXACTLY what Putin and Russia wanted when they stuck their grimy fingers into the 2016 election process: Chaos on the most valued specter of the American society, that is, rule of law.
Trump is playing his part and Congress, through lack of awareness, is along for the ride. I can hear the corks popping at the Kremlin.
18
@Winston Marrero
Yes, and where is the investigation of McConnell's (and Nunes') ties to Russia?
1
If Trump was going to declare a national emergency and move to build his wall, why the heck did he put us through this horrible shutdown, hurting 800,000 federal workers directly and thousands more citizens indirectly?
Couldn't he have talked with Schumer and Pelosi, heard their objections, and then moved forward with his declaration? It makes no sense to go through a 22-day shutdown just to turn the decision over to the courts.
And is Trump ready to accept the decision of the courts? I don't think so. He always finds a way to blame others for his mistakes. Impeach him! Lock him up!
5
I don't believe there has ever been a case where Congress and the President disagree not only on whether a situation can be properly classified as a national emergency but also disagree as to: (1) whether the situation is one that needs remedying of any kind; and (2) whether the President's proposed method for dealing with the "emergency" is a remedy or will result in more harm.
The notion that any legitimate court would even think of going along with Trump's charade is even more absurd than the charade itself.
4
President traitor belongs in prison. His oath of office is 100% foresworn. He has zero integrity. Hi is quite clearly a psychopath, a pathological liar and compulsive criminal. Lock him up!
6
"Both sides have taken absolutist positions..." To quote Reagan (who surely would have been appalled by Donald Trump) - there you go again.
New York Times reporting on family crisis:
Four year old Billy tipped over his cereal bowl and is now lying in the vestibule, banging his head and kicking his feet and yelling that no one can come in or go out until he gets the BB gun he says he needs. His parents have told him he cannot have a BB gun, provoking louder wailing and more furious kicking. Both sides have taken absolutist positions, leaving little room for compromise.
6
that is not quite correct. the Dems have agreed to fund 1.3 billion of the wall and other security measures. Trump doesn't really want his narrative about immigration to go away. He clings to the notion of his impenetrable wall because it doesn't require a complex understanding of the situation in Central America.
Trump is king of deflection. He knows that if the wall is all anyone talks about then he doesn't reveal his complete ignorance of policy. He uses that tactic in foreign policy, tax policy, funding policy, stock market, governmental process - whenever he is expected to exhibit knowledge and smart decision-making.
Trump created this wall as deflection and now he deflects from that thin argument by creating a storm of side issues like emergency funding and gov't shutdown.
Don't lose sight of the fact that all of Trump's wins have really been looses for the country - politicized courts, tax incentives for industry to not invest in new technology or modernization but to horde revenue and for wealthy individuals to not pay their share of the cost of living in the US, no environmental policy, poor school policies, foreign policy that aids China and furthers Russia's hegemonic goals, trade policy that hurts the reputation of America as a fair negotiator and on and on.
3
Did you hear his absolutely unhinged rant before getting on the Air Force One?
You know what? I'm tired of this being normal. I'm tired of having my intelligence insulted. Sick and tired of it. Sick and tired of having my patriotism questioned by this utterly self-serving fraction of a man, just because reasonable people don't want to let him make his lies true with our money.
I have always said wait, wait for impeachment to be in range, not just in sight. I guess I still do, because saving my nation is more important than my feelings. But MAN it's just getting unbearable!
17
If Trump can use emergency powers to get his way on a legislative issue that is not a national emergency and if the Courts don’t stop him, then me might as well declare him king and forget about the Constitution.
7
@Lee Rozaklis. Nuts!
This illigitimate fake President is going to raise our debt 5.6 billion more for a fake wall that is not needed. Even the Brownsville ,Texas mayor said to NYT's investigation they have no Mexican crime rate. Other mayors were asked the same question and laughed. We are ok. The GOP stirred up this fake issue so they won't have to deal with affordable health care, homelessness and worsening climate change they are making worse by supporting coal use. The GOP gullible supporters should loose their voting privileges if he uses the Emergency powers for this shameful lie.
5
The interminably bungling buffoon whose head is incapable of housing a rational thought might violate "constitutional norms?" His every sneering, smirking - "snirking" (?), witless insult, his every fatted blather tweet, his very existence, is a violation of established norms of civility and decency, to say nothing of law. I am, I suspect like many, so tired of feeling a civic responsibility to aim attention and thought at the sea of serious analysis aimed at an irredeemably weak-minded product of of tv's and capitalism's basest dysfunctions.
At this point of greatly alarming cultural dissonance and conflict, might the wisest course be to preempt his violation of constitutional norms, and, in a swift, coordinated, citizen-majority-supported violation of constitutional norms, force him to be a passenger on one of those space crafts that are headed to a far planet and not scheduled to return?
Though it would be an expensive solution, and he would certainly screw up whatever mission with which he was tasked at the other end, it would be the greatest value ever captured by our tax dollars.
4
One consolation of the emergency declaration that's coming is that the President intends to extract money for his vanity project from the Pentagon. If he were to indeed go "full authoritarian" with an attempt to impose martial law and fully subvert the rule of law, his dip into their budget will anger the top brass at the Pentagon who would take a dim view of any attempt by the White House to use the military as a tool for political suppression. Thus, the trumped-up emergency that's coming next would be an innoculation against any sort of military rule in this country.
4
Allowing the president to win a political disagreement that he may be losing by instead issuing a national emergency declaration is a very bad precedent. To avoid the congressional review and approval of a budgetary item by simply associating it with a supposed national emergency erodes an important control in the US Constitution. Although under the National Emergencies Act a joint resolution of Congress can over rule the presidential declaration it appears at this point that the Republican senators who are controlled by Trump would not over rule him. They should think hard about allowing Trump to use this new weapon in a political fight with the Democrats and create a dangerous precedent. In the future a Democratic President and house of Congress could use the same weapon against Republicans. If this occurs it moves the US toward one party rule and away from political negotiation and compromise that is essential in a democracy.
2
I think this article hits the main point. Since both sides are dug in, the only way the stalemate will be resolved is if it is thrown into the courts. It happens every time there is an insoluble political problem.
If Trump does declare a national emergency, I do suspect the case might be expedited to the Supreme Court. Nonetheless, the delay will allow Congress to pass, and Trump to sign, a clean bill.
Who knows what this Supreme Court will decide? I can't imagine it setting this precedent, and I imagine it will come down to John Roberts. If the decision does go against Trump, he will unveil his usual Plan Blame: denounce the judicial system. But congressional Republicans will breathe a sigh of relief, and politics-as-usual will resume.
In my opinion, if the Court does endorse this unprecedented assumption of power, it would be a good argument for adding new justices to the Court. I can't imagine that they would grant a Democratic president the same power.
3
Forgetting the legal implications of Trump's machinations, let's take a second and understand the broad economic consequences of this shutdown.
Tomorrow, if no deal is achieved, 800,000 federal workers will receive no paychecks. They are paid every two weeks and have an average annual paycheck of $51,340 or $2,139 every two weeks (Chron.com). The multiple of that bi-weekly number times 800,000 is $1.7 billion! Let that sink in for a moment. The ripple effect will be instantaneous not only for the workers but all businesses relying on those paychecks, i.e., grocery stores, restaurants, utilities, banks, etc. In essence, unemployment in this country will jump by 800,000.
Trump's illogical, shoot from the hip reactions to virtually anything he does could move us headlong into a recession and a real national security crisis. It is time for the leaders of both parties, notably the Republican leadership, to take a stand against such irrational acts.
143
@R.Edmund Moran It's even worse if you take into account the thousands of contractors who work for the government. The ripple effect is far larger than you stated.
4
@R.Edmund Moran
McConnell clearly is in bed with Putin. Why do people keep calling on Republican leadership as if that’s actually going to do anything?
2
@R.Edmund Moran Sounds right, but how do you make them take a stand. they seem to be possessed by an irrational self-interest.
2
It is a coup and the destruction of democracy. It should be resisted by any and every means.
7
For the sake of the federal employees and their families Pelosi et al should state that they are yielding to Trump's extortion and will look forward to Mueller report or voter choice next election.
This will be a public relations coup.
1
“it could be a mutually face-saving way to reopen the government, but also an extraordinary violation of constitutional norms.”
Could you even write a more appealing 2 birds/1 stone solution for a president without a mind of his own? Sheesh, these journalists today-
1
No, it would just encourage worse behavior. Do you reward a child for throwing a temper tantrum? No, you don’t.
So, a Democratic president could declare climate change a national emergency and order all coal mines to be shut down. Should we go down this road?
5
How about declaring the Republican party a terrorist organization?
I find it striking that people still write of the undermining of trust in American democracy in the conditional mode. If there is a single thing upon which pretty much all sides agree, it is that American democracy is highly dysfunctional at best, and at worst defunct.
2
This is the only card left in Trump's deck--he is boxed in from all corners--and, to follow Speaker Pelosi's comment, his manhood is at stake--forget the country. Not that Trump can see around corners, but, he is really using up all the tools in his executive office toolbox. First was hiring enemies of the agencies they lead, then executive orders, then pardons, and now, emergency powers --- He still have has left, invading a country ---one without a wall.
4
Trump has always lived by the motto of "get away with all that you can, for as long as you can".
5
I still fail to see how a wall is a response to an emergency. Between eminent domain battle, design, planning and building, it will take years to erect a wall. In a real emergency, who has years to wait?
5
“Both sides have taken absolutist positions “. This is an example of using false equivalence in an attempt to be fair. Lies about a border crisis and sequestered children vs. denouncement of immorality are not equal positions. Shameless and worst of all, misreporting from a major newspaper. Let Fox News be fair and balanced. NYT can do better.
7
The aw shucks, this would be a face saving “solution” suggested by the article is nothing short of idiotic. There has already been far too much damage to our body politic and norms of governance. Though Trump is responsable for creating this creating the current mess, let us not forget that there are any number of constructive resolutions. It would have been appropriate for Nancy Pelosi to say “reopen the government and we can talk about it. I won’t negotiate under this kind of behavior.” But to refuse any consideration of any funding, only feeds his stubbornness.
1
Once again I am puzzled why the nyt passes over the fact that there are approximately 150 million people living in Mexico and Central America with enormously lower standards of living than here in the US and that common sense will tell us that the vast majority want to come here and enjoy our benefits at tremendous cost to us
"A violation of constitutional norms" - so what else is new about this Administration? It will be up to the legislative, but more likely the judicial, branches to rein him in again. As we've seen, there is risk to relying on the latter two -- especially the legislative -- to perform their true functions and defend their prerogatives, but there has been a record of reward too.
1
"Of the 58 times presidents have declared emergencies since Congress reformed emergency-powers laws in 1976, none involved funding a policy goal after failing to win congressional approval. And there were none before that."
There are many possibilities, but the one that holds out some hope, is that not even this Supreme Court would uphold such an outrageous abuse of power as the creation of a fake emergency to overthrow Congress. We all know that the only crisis at the border is the humanitarian crisis caused by the Republican Party, the party of hatreds and fears and the corruption of big money behind it.
13
State taxpayers better watch their wallets. The only real security threat is the loss of billions of dollars to state programs for road construction, disease control and homeland security as we wait for the federal government to reopen. The Trump shut down going to cost billions to state tax payers.
9
Hopefully to the red states.
3
An "emergency" gives the President powers that he cannot normally exercise without the Constitutional "Advice and Consent" of the Congress. It would, in practice, make him a dictator. Do we or even the Republicans want him to shut down our Constitution and become a dictator? It is not about the border wall but about Trump's intention to wield limitless power.
15
For the first time, the child in Trump is being confronted by a Mother who says "NO". Can the adults in the room please give Trump a time out?
8
Let’s all stop calling it emergency powers and call it the Enabling Act of 2019. What can go wrong?
4
I guess if Trump tries this insane thing, then we’ll remain in a state of imaginary “emergency” for the 10 years or more it will take to design something, buy up all the prooerty by eminent domain if necessary and then laboriously build it. Will we have to remain in a state of imaginary “emerge cy” forever so that the President can man, guard, inspect, repair and naintain the wall into eternity? Why doesn’t Trump just use his imaginary emergency powers to create the wall immediately by emergency edict?
3
As a Constitutionalist, I oppose Trump’s invocation of a cooked-up “crisis” or “emergency” to justify circumventing the Constitution’s allocation of the appropriation power to Congress and, in the first instance, to the House of Representatives. In terms of respect for the separation of powers, nothing good can come of this. But as a partisan Democrat, I see this as a no-lose proposition for my side. If Trump carries through on his threat and tries to build his vanity wall without Congressional approval, he will face numerous lawsuits challenging his action. If Trump loses in court, then he won’t get his wall and Democrats will win on the policy issue. If Trump wins in court, then the next Democratic president will have a ready-made precedent for taking unilateral action when Mitch McConnell becomes too difficult to deal with. Given the Republicans’ structural advantage in the Senate, such a precedent may be more valuable to a Democratic president than a Republican.
4
Only problem I see, is that you're assuming this isn't leading a tyrannical coup. What happens when congress is detained and executed by national emergency? How long before martial law is declared? Latinx placed in internment camps (citizen or not)?
1
I want the government I paid for, up and running period. No wall!
9
So when will the Republican Senate take back their own power? Do they really think that if they enable this president to do whatever he wants in the name of "emergency"--regardless its bona fides--he will exercise executive restraint the next time? Where would it end? How far down the road to monarchy do we have to get? How much do we have to devalue the rule of law in the eyes of the American public?
The true crisis is not at our southern border, but in the halls of the U.S. Senate. Will they exercise their constitutional responsibility to check an unfettered presidency? Or will they hand over the keys of the kingdom for this narcissistic little man do to whatever he wants, whenever he wants for however long he remains in power? Allowing him to divert military personnel and military funds to build a monumental barrier at the southern border in the absence of any semblance of emergency would be just that.
We are way past the time for the GOP to call uncle.
11
correctionPB
Northern UT | Pending Approval
“If there is not, in fact, a persuasive basis for this being the kind of national emergency that was contemplated by Congress, and it is nevertheless approved by the Department of Justice, what is the rule-of-law cost??
Answer: Plenty, and don't think Trump doesn't know it.
How about this scenario? Trump is not an intelligent man, but he is shrewd and he is a con artist--always ahead of the game in advancing himself at the expense of others and the law.
So: Trump declares his "national emergency" to get his wall (that is not selling well tp about 70% of Americans who don't want the wall for lots of credible reasons).
Okay, fine, a national emergency over this situation is not really constitutional, but it lets federal workers go back to work, and we will all be relieved, plus, Trump's base will be thrilled & gloat that Donald has struck a deal all on his own, no thanks to the Democrats.
Fast forward to the 2020 presidential election. Suppose Trump has not been removed from office and is the GOP presidential candidate by acclamation. Trump loses the election. What does he do?
It's all a fake election, millions of illegal "aliens" who should not have voted.
Trump declares a "national emergency" because the 2020 election was "invalid" in his mind. He remains POTUS until his son takes over.
Trump is trivializing the use of a "national emergency" to get his wall. "Precedent-setting" for when he may need it in 2020.
4
False equivalency, always with reporters. Balance both sides regardless of reality.
This scenario would not be face saving for Democrats. You must be kidding or you have a conservative bias.
6
If the courts let Trump declare a national emergency based on his demonstrably false claims about this wall, we are in deep, doo-doo as a country. Next he will declare martial law, suspend civil liberties, start arresting journalists and Democrats, try to dissolve Congress, postpone elections, etc.
14
The Constitution has been nullified in the last 2 years. It's now toast. The United States is not defined by geography but by its people wanting to live under the rule of the Constitution. Anyone who thinks this latest and most direct assault on the Constitution, particularly the separation of powers, is something we can delay fighting about has learned nothing from 20th century history. It may already be too late, but if it's not, the time to act is now, not 2020. What if every state, taxpayer, employer withholding federal taxes for employees, etc. etc. started paying into an escrow account held by the state governments? And then began to spend it on all the things for the public good that the federal government has abandoned?
4
See him in court
For years to come
Wall ...what wall?
2
I wish the Democrats would just keep the message simple and remind Trump of his other campaign promise, that Mexico would pay for it. That should be their response to everything about wall funding. Nuance is lost on him and his supporters.
6
There is no “crisis. The wall is a complete waste of taxpayers’ money. Period.
The only immigration crisis is in the heads of the conman in the White House and his sycophant Vice President and his sycophant GOP including McConnell.
Putin must be grinning evilly ear to ear as he watches the American Democracy crumble and fall in its ability to execute its checks and balances. The US is currently being run as an autocracy and the deluded “base” continue to lap up the lies and propaganda coming out of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and Faux News.
What is the solution? Ousting the conman dictator and his sycophant Vice President would be a great start.
6
@Radha
I'd call this a crisis.
"In the past two years, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service arrested 266,000 illegal aliens with criminal records (127,992 in 2017 and 138,177 in 2018). That number included nearly 100,000 violent assaults, 4,000 murders, 30,000 sex crimes."
https://amgreatness.com/2019/01/09/americas-southern-border-isnt-just-a-crisis-its-a-disgrace/
This temper tantrum of his has to end eventually. Perhaps his move - once this diversion is over and his son is the first one to receive a subpoena from our newly elected co-equal executive branch, he will resort to sulking for a couple of days, sucking his thumb....
... and then, FINALLY, resign.
2
This talk of declaring a national emergency over the wall sounds like a first, more-than-a-baby step toward Trump declaring martial law if it suits his needs. For instance, Trump would be sorely tempted to make such a declaration if he loses the '20 election and his lizard brain convinces him that several million fraudulent votes determined the outcome. (Heard that before?)
I've been a skeptic of a House publication of Articles of Impeachment. A declaration of a national emergency might push me over that line. (Firing Robert Mueller or refunding his investigation surely would.)
3
It will take years to plan, and no actual work would be done before 2020
2
If you can vacillate on whether or not it's "an emergency," then it's not an emergency, but a speculative exercise in lying.
The Republicans have no shame and no longer try to conceal their slimy machinations.
6
@Zap There is no vacillation, zero, nada, bupkiss. There is no such emergency.
2
Again with the “both sides.” This is getting/has been extremely old.
4
I bet the wall construction firms that have paid kickbacks to the Trump Organization might be asking for their money back....that's probably the real emergency...
4
Trump began talking about a "national emergency" after the New York Times reported on the undocumented immigrants working at his golf club in New Jersey.
10
The great pretender is on "elect me" tour and the media is following him around like his groupies. It's insane.
WE THE PEOPLE are sick of him. WE are sick of coverage of his antics. WE are sick of him lurking around OUR white house and abusing the power of OUR presidency.
When will people in power - outside his criminal enterprise and outside the current political, legal and military structures - have the courage to call OUR TRUE EMERGENCY and put him under citizen's arrest, along with Minister Pence and Traitor Mitch McConnell, to await trial for trying to destroy OUR democracy?
NOW is the time. It's a "man" idea to "wait and see". WE THE PEOPLE SEE. STOP THEM.
9
@njglea
Hear, hear !
1
Politics as usual gives us the Schumer-Pelosi American Gothic act; perhaps it's time for a President who thinks outside the box and acts to fix our porous borders, about which we have rung hands since 1986 (after the last "last" Democratic amnesty) and 9/11.
1
9/11 terrorist did not cross any borders illegally. Neither did the Vegas shooter, sandy hook, night club shooter and on and on.
1
Perhaps I'm overreacting, but this seems the first step down the slippery-slope of Trump-style authoritarianism that many have predicted and feared.
We got rid of a King for a reason in 1776, but Trump (and his supporters) never learned this particular lesson in history class. We can't rely on one-person imperial rule, hence the deliberately limited power of the Executive (and the balance of powers between the three main branches).
We will be entering truly uncharted territory here when -- not if, when -- Trump declares the state of emergency. Because what's to stop him from doing this every time he doesn't get his way?
Let's remember what defined American patriotism in the first place, and not allow another king to rule us.
7
@dr j If anything, you're underreacting.
3
If Trump were indeed the master builder he pretends to be, why has he not presented a detailed project management plan with an itemized cost analysis of how the estimated $5 billion will be spent to complete the wall. We deserve to know exactly where our tax dollars are going and we should provide oversight that he will not stiff the construction workers and contractors as he has done in his previous history of building.
5
"...courts must defer to the president’s judgment about whether an emergency exists rather than substituting their own thinking."
Think about that. So if this crazy president wants to build a bubble over the entire country because he thinks space aliens are about to attack, the judiciary is not supposed to stand in his way.
5
@Occam's razor But the congress is and the Republicans won't. They clearly place party and their view of their own political well-being waaaaay above country.
3
Fresh from the memory of “taxation tyranny of the Crown”, the Constitution’s Framers gave Congress (the people) the exclusive power to raise revenue and determine how it will be spent. Control over the nation’s economic/financial resources and their deployment thus rest with Congress only. By this definition, any arbitrary decision by the Executive to divert people’s money for an unauthorized use can be deemed as usurping Congress’s Constitutional authority over the purse and its defrayment - an impeachable offense on grounds of contempt for Congress. Andrew Johnson (1868) was impeached for showing disdain for Congress and it was defined as "high crime"
3
Sure ... Border Security 2020. Please do remind me, why does anyone care about this? Trump is in the business of defrauding the American public. He wants to stay in office for as long as possible while doing absolutely nothing of consequence. Immigrants are his scapegoats for all America's problems. Lost your factory job? That's because of immigrants. Addicted to opioids? Definitely the fault of immigrants. Crime? Almost entirely because of immigrants. How? Who knows, but it is - trust me. When you're obsessed with laying blame at someone else's feet, it's easy to overlook the fact that nothing of note has happened in Washington since the ACA passed in 2010.
Take a moment and think, since 2010, has Congress passed any major legislation that resulted in a considerable improvement in your life?
7
@Mr. Adams
Yep, tax cuts. Keeping more of my hard earned money has definitely improved my life considerably. Thanks for asking.
None after the ACA.
It takes two to have a disagreement. Democrats claim the government shutdown can do far reaching damage to the economy. Yet, they prefer to incur this damage than give in on the $5 billion at issue.
If Trump uses emergency powers, he will transfer $5 billion from somewhere else in the overall budget to pay for his barrier enhancement. Wouldn't it be better for Democrats to have some say over where that money will come from, rather than let Trump decide it all by his lonesome?
Yes, President Jackson and the Cherokee surely had a disagreement, and both sides were equally culpable. Wrong.
4
I cannot believe that I've lived to see the day when the US government, after hundreds of years, is taken down by a single man while Congress sits idly by and some even parrot his lines. Autocrats everywhere have used the same strategy - an emergency to protect national security. Trump has already trashed the credibility of the government and shown the weak points of a dated constitution. Now he proceeds to undermine the system entirely and all that people can muster are some weak comments on how we should not worry because this will drag on in courts for years. That is what they have been saying all along while Trump has been allowed to do much of the damage that he has sought to do. The system is now broken and soon it will be broken beyond repair. Following the law already seems kind of optional and apparently we did not even really know what the law is, given its vague statutes and endless exceptions in favor of the government. None of this will be fixed by any oversight by the Democratic house or even a change of power in 2020. After this mess, if there is a way to survive it, there needs to be a serious conversation about how the constitution can be brought up to date from the 18th to the 21st century.
9
Maybe it's time for a revolution?
2
"Both sides have taken absolutist positions ..." is a flawed argument central to this commentary. The Democratic proposal of $1.3 additional funding for enhanced border security, was a bid to negotiate a solution with Trump to end the crisis he created.
He has upped the ante by shutting down parts of government and now by threatening a declaration of national emergency.
SInce he took office Trump has demonstrated immature, malignant narcissism. After all his abusive rhetoric and unhinged tweeting, should Democrats pretend otherwise?
He may petulantly declare a national emergency. The next President can do the same to provide health care for all,end impoverishment of ordinary Americans, mitigate homelessness, end wars of choice, fund public education, and remedy the damage that has been wrought by #45 and his complicit cohort.
Let's hope it's not too late by then to save our country.
16
The question for me is why does one man, McConnell, have so much power to stop the process? Why can't there be some trigger to overrule his obstruction and allow the bill to come to a vote in the Senate? I'm guessing the bill would pass close to the vote before Trump re-nigged and created this situation.
Surely, McConnell's power does not come from the Constitution? It must be some simple Senate rule that can easily be disposed.
14
@SantaCruz Joe Theoretically there is, but it would take at least 60 votes and/or require Republicans to revolt by doing things like attaching riders to bills that McConnell wants. Just try to find 3 Republicans with the guts to do anything like that, much less more than a dozen. They're all hyper-partisan cowards who put party and their own supposed political well-being far over country.
2
If Trump now declares a national emergency (why was it not a national emergency a year ago when the Republicans controlled the House) which is the same as fireman fighting a house fire (if there was one) by stopping to build a ladder, then the U.S. House should put forth Articles of Impeachment for abuse of power and add violation of the emoluments clause of the Constitution and obstruction of justice in the Mueller investigation. Certainly, McConnell would say the Senate would not convict the President unless the President agrees but that is an elephant of a different color.
8
How can you declare an emergency when what you have in place now is lowering, not increasing, illegal border crossings. An emergency means a crisis "now" and the only crisis I see is Trump in crisis cause a woman said no to his demands. The only solution to the Trump crisis is to remove him from that job that he is unqualified for.
9
The Times misses the point. Trump won’t fake it. If the Ds block the wall by whatever means, the govt remains closed.
2
@Marian Isn't Mexico supposed to pay for the wall?
6
Trump has faked everything else in his life, he’s an amoral con man. Why not fake this, too?
3
Pelosi should offer to fund the wall no matter the cost. Go back to the original $25 billion or more if need be. There will be only one condition that Trump would have to agree to.
He would have to resign immediately.
It's a win - win situation.
Trump gets what he wants and saves face with his base and leaves office a hero.
And we get what we want. A madman out of the White House and a return to normalcy.
In this case, building the wall will truly insure our safety and national security.
8
What Crisis? Crossings on the border are at a ten-year low. It is only a "crisis" for the whiner-in-chief who made "promises" he cannot keep and so is embarrassed that he is so ineffectual. they ONLY people who care about this are a few low-information ultra right wing trumpers. No one else cares one bit and would rather be working on solutions to REAL problems. Indeed, Trump is completely irrelevant to the issues that normal Americans have.
7
Will it end the shutdown? I don't think so. He still can veto any bills the House & Congress pass to open the government because he wants to be the Big Man. No the shutdown will not end until there is a crisis of Mr. Mueller getting closer to finishing his investigation & trump needs a distraction.
2
Newspapers are ill-advised to predict the outcome of controversial Constitutional questions. Selecting a biased law professor just gets you a contentious answer. No one knew what was coming when Roe v Wade, Heller, and Citizens United were awaiting decision. And even now the court’s reasoning in these cases remain controversial.
When newspapers tell us what courts will decide, they are wrong as often as they are right. And even those who have Ms. Greenhouse’ s expertise would better off admitting that the disputes are unpredictable.
"Both sides have taken absolutist positions ..." is a flawed argument at the centre of this commentary. The Democratic leadership proposed a compromise of $1.3 additional funding for enhanced border security, inviting Trump to negotiate a solution to the crisis he has wilfully created.
"Face saving" exactly describes Trump's absolutist position. He has upped the ante first by shutting down parts of government and then by threatening a declaration of national emergency.
The time has come for recognising that this emperor is standing before us naked, and with a very thin skin. Time and again he has demonstrated immature, malignant narcissism.
He may petulantly declare a national emergency. Fine. The next President can do the same to provide health care for all,end impoverishment of ordinary Americans, mitigate homelessness, end wars of choice, fund public education, and remedy the damage that has been wrought by #45 and his complicit cohort.
6
Trump wants a fight over the wall more than he wants the wall. He recognizes the fight energizes his base and brings in the campaign donations. The fight allows him to be portrayed as a an "outsider", a "disruptor" and a "fighter" - all things that sell well to his base (and are easier than actually being a leader). If the wall were approved, he'd lose all of these. And everyone would see that a border wall will do nothing in the short- or long-term. So Trump is better off drawing out the fight with Congress as long as practical, then punting it to the courts via the "national emergency" strategy so it remains his rallying cry for the 2020 campaign.
3
Yep, President Warren will declare a national emergency and confiscate all guns, since more 30,000 Americans are killed by guns. That's a real emergency!
12
Also, climate change. Declare national emergency and put all those gutted environmental regulations back on the books and then add some more.
15
For the first time, the child in Trump is being confronted by a Mother who says "NO".
14
The border wall thing is a political stunt. There is no reason to hold government workers hostage and the critical work that the affected agencies do over a wall. All of us, Democrats and Republican alike agree that immigration and border security need to be addressed with funding and bipartisan policy. Congress could override a Trump veto should they choose to. It bodes badly for that arm of government and for our Country to allow their hands to be tied by Trump. I see Party Interests over people here. And if Trump does declare a national emergency and attempts to use military funds, this will further weaken the balance of government and allow further assaults on our democratic system of government. Does Congress really want to allow that? The shutdown of government and the inability of Congress to take action against a self-serving Administration are the real national emergencies both for the people who are not getting paid and for the safety and security of the Country.
5
Trump is mostly to blame to being pig-headed but Mitch McConnell should put it to a vote. Isnt' that the job of the senate to take it from Congress? They're not voting on it in the senate because then it would get vetoed and would get overturned. I'm getting tired of Mitch and the Repubs avoiding their responsibilities.
5
@Johnny
Any bill not including wall funding, even if passed in Senate and vetoed, is highly unlikely to get 67 Senate votes to override said veto.
A simple solution:
Congress regularly funds special appropriations for its members,- bridges, airports, dredging harbors, etc. - which are in the national interest.
Offer President Trump a separate small " special appropriation" for his wall. Let him save some face and let's get on with the business of the country.
@Clint; in the last two years have we gotten on with the business of the country? The business of Trump "yes", but the business of the country "no".
4
If, as Trump insists, the southern border crisis warrants the use of an emergency declaration, doesn't the fact that he has yet to declare it suggest he is derelict in his duties? Hopefully, if he does, and it's challenged in court, the courts see this as nothing but the political ploy that it is.
2
Mr. “I’m smarter than all the generals” waits until half his army is gone to pick this fight.
The generals would have waged this battle for a wall when they controlled both houses.
Not this guy.
How much longer are we going to live with this kind of idiocy. DT needs to be shown the door, today preferably.
8
We need to end the partial government shutdown by giving something that will allow the President and Democrats to claim victories. All without resorting to a protracted legal battle over the invocation of emergency powers.
Give the President funding for the border wall, in stages, contingent upon the success or failure of other means (fencing repairs and upgrades, drones, increased border control agents, etc.) to lower illegal entry rates at designated zones. Set defined times at which these rates will be evaluated. Ensure evaluation methods and publication of results are acceptable to all parties. Set aside the entirety of Trump's budget request for the wall, but only allocate funding for construction based on the results of the success or failure of other border security measures currently approved by Democrats.
So let me see if I understand this: Trump originally agrees to a deal - the senate passes it. Then Trump gets bad press from the far right. He reneges. The House backs him. The new House passes the same bill the senate passed. McConnell won't bring it to the floor for a vote. Trump decides to declare a national emergency. And we pay these folks!
7
Isn't it an impeachable offense to rule by pundit feedback? Imagine if Obama decided to change domestic policy to appease somebody on TV. The republicans would go nuts and impeachment would be in progress. They went after Bill Clinton for nothing but anything goes with Trump. It's so frustrating.
2
"Trump, Heading to the Border, Suggests He Will Declare an Emergency to Fund the Wall." This is Trump's plan "B". Plan "A" was to scare the public and intimidate the Democrats to do what he wants, which by the way, is nonnegotiable.
1
If Trump gets by with an obviously inappropriate invocation of emergency, then a precedent is set for more such, and the WH may as well rule on its own.
2
This guy had an entirely Republican-controlled Congress -- both houses -- for two years, yet he couldn't get his wall funding. And now suddenly he's blaming the Democrats for standing in his way. What a reckless and incompetent manipulator.
7
@Ess
Senate requires 60 votes to bring bill to a vote. This would require dems to be on board which was never the case. Are you are in favor of doing away with such a requirement on any & all legislation?
Face saving? You don't give face saving to hostage taker, and face saving is exactly what Trump is looking for from patsy Democrats.
Trump can choose to switch the hostage. That's not face saving; that is a desperation. And this fake xenophobic crisis, if he can manage to keep it alive till 2020, will be the only thing left for the Republican party to run on. The party now attached to Trump at the hip will go down with him in 2020.
3
You owe me $100! Pay up!
I owe you nothing!
OK, we'll compromise! You owe me $50.
"[I]t could be a mutually face-saving way to reopen the government."
Mutually? Who else needs to "save face" beyond the one individual who intentionally put himself in this untenable position?
Let Trump hold his breath and flail his tiny arms until he turns blue and passes out. We're tired of him and his infantile tantrums. The government of the United States of America is not his personal play toy. Enough already.
Any attempt to steal taxpayer dollars under the guise of some "emergency" should be promptly challenged in court as the farce that it is. Trump should not be allowed to raid the Treasury to bail himself out. We're not Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank or the Kremlin.
This mess is all yours, Donny. No one is going to cover for you this time. By the way, the wolves ARE starting to eat your sheep.
7
Stop addressing Trump as president. Treasonous Trump admitted on national television while standing next to Putin, "We" beat Hillary Clinton". As if it wasn't enough - Trump previously admitted to NBC's Lester Holt - he fired Comey to stop the Russian investigation.
What are we waiting for to remove this madman from the Oval Office ?
9
Patriotic Republicans
2
It was never about national security for Trump. He's using an extortionist's tactic to protect his fragile ego. The Radical right is orchestrating the destruction of our Democracy, while they let him sell out our country to his comrades: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/19/us/politics/sanctions-oleg-deripaska-russia-trump.html
3
It bears repeating. trump says that IF he doesn't get the money from Congress, THEN he will declare a national emergency.
for trump, declaring a national emergency is simply another funding "channel" for our dictator.
This created situation has nothing to do with our safety or security as a nation. Nothing.
From trump's own words and actions, the courts should see through his declaration of will and deny his access to the use of emergency powers.
5
"If the president does invoke emergency powers to circumvent Congress, it would be an extraordinary violation of constitutional norms — and establish a precedent for presidents who fail to win approval for funding a policy goal."
Executive overreach started when Truman decided to kill Koreans. Trump's wall is the inevitable product of cowardice in the fact of tyranny. I'd also suggest that with so many problems here, fighting over symbols or meaningless military engagements is unproductive, to say the least.
Anyone who is upset about Trump's action should remember this the next time the NY Times and other such propagandists work mightily on a claim that a need exists to sacrifice freedom in order to get some safety. These people do not care about the Constitution, and they do not have any respect for American values.
The border wall threat from Trump is literally bringing our nation to the footsteps of fascism. In this situation, I am eerily reminded of Hitler’s rise to Chancellor through invoking emergency power laws in the 1930s, which were built in to Germany’s constitution.
No president should circumvent Congress in such a blatant manner—Trump, Obama, or the next. This is danger territory. The legal battle ahead is not just over the border wall. It is about the foundation of our system of government and democracy.
6
Any politician who is still considering backing Trump on this path to a dictatorship should first consider that he’s a total incompetent. All his schemes eventually collapse and everyone involved ends up broke or in jail or both. Justice will prevail.
1
People may be kidding themselves if they think liberal objectives will be served by trading a Declaration of Emergency for a quick reopening of government offices. Trump has said that "border security"/The Wall would be his premier 2020 election issue. Opposition to The Wall could prove to be a very powerful re-election appeal.
National Democrats have demonstrated unusual ineptitude where propaganda battles are involved. This was demonstrated, most recently, by Sen. Schumer standing beside Speaker Pelosi, looking like Frankenstein as she spoke, and by their leaden speeches. Liberals lack spokespersons who communicate *effectively* to ordinary Americans.
Democrats generally don't realize how poorly informed the American public is. They prize appeals to "the facts" — but most people, even reasonably well-informed individuals, have difficulty sorting things out amid a welter of distortions and falsehoods.
Trump and his supporters will appeal to powerful emotions; liberals have not, in my opinion, countered those appeals successfully (on a political level), largely because they've spent too much time talking among themselves ("How could *anybody* believe such garbage?"). Nancy Pelosi's remark that a Wall is immoral, for example, may haunt Democrats if it's portrayed as effete indifference
to keeping Americans safe.
1
@Michael N. Alexander
In describing the WALL as immoral, I suspect Speaker Pelosi was voicing a conditioned response from many of us who lived through the Cold War.
The Berlin Wall was a terrible and powerful symbol of repression and confinement. It was the embodiment of two diametrically opposed systems, unable to communicate or compromise. Their inability to reason together threatened to extinguish all life on planet Earth.
And the epicenter of the crisis between East and West was Berlin, divided by that hideous wall.
For that reason, I have been opposed to Trump’s WALL since the first time I heard it mentioned.
There is no current emergency on our southern border.
Building a wall will make us no safer.
This business is clearly a case of demagoguery that has escaped from its handlers.
Most importantly, the citizens of the United States of America, whether Cold War survivors or not, REJECT the idea of resolving problems by building walls. Justice and reason tend to lead to long term solutions. Walls and wire and weapons only prolong the agony.
3
@Tom W
"In the past two years, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service arrested 266,000 illegal aliens with criminal records (127,992 in 2017 and 138,177 in 2018). That number included nearly 100,000 violent assaults, 4,000 murders, 30,000 sex crimes. Pause for a moment and think about that. Every one of those crimes was entirely avoidable, unnecessary, and the result of government’s failure to perform it’s most solemn duty: protecting the lives of its citizens."
https://amgreatness.com/2019/01/09/americas-southern-border-isnt-just-a-crisis-its-a-disgrace/
@WCHJ66
This is from politifact.com
“So by the FBI’s standard, 73.5 million people in the United States had a criminal record as of June 30.
“The Census Bureau lists the adult population in the United States at 249.4 million. That means the FBI considers about 29.5 percent of adults to have a criminal record.“
Walk down a busy street in the United States of America. On average, according to the FBI, about 30% of the adults who surround you have criminal records. The vast majority of these people are native born American citizens.
This is a cause for some concern, but not a reason to bar people from the grocery store, fast-food restaurants or bowling alleys. No walls are needed to segregate us.
Fear mongers use carefully selected facts which elicit a negative emotional response, and turn them to illogical purpose.
I’m not afraid to go to the Walmart, even knowing that some of my fellow shoppers have criminal records. I chose not to live in fear or to unnecessarily perpetuate it.
1
The greatest danger of Trump declaring an unfounded 'national emergency' to grant himself the power to override Congress is that such power will be addictive. This is particularly true for someone with the clear autocratic tendencies Trump displays. Once Trump discovers that he can effectively bypass the Congress and trample existing law by declaring a bogus 'state of emergency,' will he be able to -- or want to – stop using that power whenever he doesn’t get his way?
Will another state of emergency allow him to pull the license of any media company that dares to criticize him? Will yet another state of emergency allow him to order the arrest of political opponents? To adjourn Congress? To postpone elections?
The extraordinary powers granted by national emergency legislation have been made even broader by court decisions that appear to have gutted the law's original emergency breaking system, which was the ability of the Congress to cancel a state of emergency with a simple resolution. That leaves a united U.S. Congress capable of overriding a veto as the only real check on a President's authority to declare a bogus state of emergency to accomplish any political goal. In today’s America, that means that Americans currently have no protection at all against the rise of unlimited authoritarian power since Mitch McConnell and the GOP have repeatedly shown that they are unwilling to provide any check on Trump’s excesses.
5
If the President can declare national emergencies to circumvent Congressional approval, imagine these headlines:
"President Bush declares national health emergency to outlaw all abortions"
"President Obama declares national health emergency to implement Obamacare"
"President Trump declares national economic emergency to eliminate billionaire's taxes"
"President Obama declares national health emergency to ban private ownership of all firearms"
"President Trump declares national security emergency to require all teachers to carry firearms"
The possibilities are endless.
3
We want and need for the president of the United States to have the power to move quickly and nimbly when the country faces a bona fide emergency. That is the power conservatives are trying to preserve when they speak of upholding executive emergency power "without considering the facts."
The problem is that granting such unlimited "emergency" power to a corrupt executive, one who would exercise it for personal or partisan purposes in the absence of true emergency, would essentially allow for the establishment of the monarchy our forefathers tried so hard to avoid. What what would stop a corrupt executive, infused with the unlimited power of doing whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted, to make an even bigger executive overreach the next time? The only limits to such power would be impeachment or electoral defeat, and by the time Senate could or would act on articles of impeachment or the electorate could act in the next election, we would be months or years down the road. And in the meantime the integrity of the rule of law--and the public's faith in it--would be reduced to rubble.
The president's next move will be far and away the biggest true test of our constitutional democracy since our long national nightmare began. "A republic, if we can keep it," indeed.
3
I thought Congress acted with alacrity when Roosevelt sought approval for a declaration of war after Pearl Harbor. Congress has pretty much abdicated since then, so we have 74 years of "infamy,"
1
Perhaps trump may wish to suspend the next elections as part of his 'national emergency'. This used to sound like a stretch, now it no longer does. Welcome to GOP America.
4
Obviously Tzar Putin the first has instructed his Manchuria candidate to destroy America on cue. Is this not completely transparent?
3
I am a 28 year federal employee, veteran of 6 shutdowns including the three longest. I'll tell you the impacts to date:
- I and my other senior team members have subsidized with our own cash the young members of the team so that they can pay their bills
- Even so, two have declared they are leaving. One has a new job already. They will quit the day the shutdown ends to draw their back pay just out of spite
- I expect three more to go, because they have told me that they expect more shutdowns and zero raises to continue during this moronic administration, and they can get MUCH better offers elsewhere.
- They are the youngest and brightest of the scientists and engineers on my team. All of my hiring for the past 6 years will have evaporated. The federal government will have an even more difficult time re-staffing with new blood, which of course is exactly what the conservative sociopaths want.
- I am moving up my retirement, and as of the day I return I'm going ROAD until year's end. In case you don't know, ROAD is a military acronym for "retired on active duty". I've been spit upon enough, thanks. I chose to serve rather than make twice as much in the private sector, but I'm done.
- I'm going fishing, then I'm going to go teach.
15
Why didn't he shut down the government when Republicans controlled the House to get money for the wall?
6
There is no 'national emergency' at the southern border. Everyone knows this. If Trump, who also knows this, declares it to be so just to massage his bruised ego, he should be removed from office immediately. The mere possibility of this scenario indicates to me that our system of government needs to be changed, and changed drastically. The EC is obsolete and needs to be scrapped. One person, one vote. No more tyranny of the minority. Two term limit for all elected representatives and SC justices. Severely limit the power of the president. The power should lie in the hands of the taxpayers of this country, not the sponsors of our 'representatives'.
5
"Give a boy a hammer and chisel ... at once he begins to hack the doorposts, to take off the corners of shutter and window frames, until you teach him ... how to keep his activity within bounds." ("Once A Week", London, 1868) Paraphrase: To a baby with a hammer, everything looks like a nail. There is no emergency, except in Mr. Trump's fevered mind.
3
Violating “constitutional norms”? What a slick way to create a new “thing” to rap President Trump over the head with.
Two points: first, this is a country whose constitutional government has evolved through innumerable creative entities, so what “norm” is appropriate if President Trump has violated one of yours?
Second, this President isn’t one of you (thank goodness) so why after 24 months in office are you waiting for him to be like you? Plenty of us - tens of millions more than you’re aware of - love the job he’s doing and constantly wish him every success. As Americans, we think that’s fitting.
Stop holding 800,000 workers and their families hostage . No one should pay their bills and let’s see how fast the banks start calling to end the shutdown
3
@Bill Lombard
I agree, dems should fund the wall and end shutdown!
The article states that Trump relishes the idea of having the wall to fight about in 2020. Several things jump out about this statement:
1. If republicans wanted to fund the wall, why didn’t they do it between 2016-2018 when no one could have stopped them?
2. Trump, and the idea of a wall and a so called “border crisis” lost big time in the 2018 election
3. A wall is VERY unpopular in Texas, especially among landowners on the border. Trump did not win Texas by much, and after Trumps rally for Cruz, Cruz dropped 7 points in the polls.
5. Cornyn, who is up for re election in 2020 does not support a wall
6. Trump most likely won’t still be president in 2020
7. Let’s build a wall around illegitimate Trump and his illegal family and call it a win
3
I thought democrats put forward a smaller concession (~2.5b) to allow a longer fence to be built? This wouldn’t be the worst compromise as it just extends an already existing border block that sends a less...shortsighted... message. Even repubs have said they would take the deal, but won’t break from their president.
3
But the Dems were promised something for it, i.e., DACA protection. But the Toddler in Chief threw a tantrum and changed his mind. You cannot overestimate how much this manchild is a child.
4
If there is a national emergency, it is all in Trump's head. And he is responsible for the crisis the country finds itself in.
The grandstander wants to be different from all his predecessors – invoking emergency powers to fund a policy goal that has been rejected by Congress – just because there’s “no such instance in the first two centuries of American history.”
Flouting the Constitution and seeking to bend Congress to his will have been part of Trump’s abuse of power. He doesn’t care about undermining the democratic process as long as he runs the show.
7
POTUS, bring plenty of paper towels to toss out. It’s a “humanitarian crisis,” after all.
2
Why is anyone negotiating with a president who probably collaborated with the Russians to steal his election?!?
Reopen the government under the bills already passed by both chambers and then determine if Trump is entitled to be in office. We know that's the mildest approach Republicans would take if Hillary had been elected by cheating with a foreign power. They'd actually be calling for the death penalty and we all know it. The publicly stated threshold for execution by some at the Republican convention, without repudiation, was a private email server.
How do we know Trump isn't upending the western order under guidance by handlers in Moscow? He just stated the absurdity that the former Soviet Union went into Afghanistan to fight terrorism. That's directly out of Putin's recent playbook to rehabilitate the Soviet empire. Trump is a tool and a threat.
Put Trump in a box until Mueller completes his work and releases a comprehensive report. Rumors are this will be in the coming months. That's the best way to mitigate the greatest security threat to the country. Not some worthless wall to demonstrate Trump's manliness.
12
"unreasonable": won't agree to whatever I demand - President Trump
2
In keeping with what is becoming an innumerable list of euphemisms intended to treat resistance to Trump’s actions as a squabble, Charlie says: “Both sides have taken absolutist positions that leave no room for the kind of split-the-difference compromise that usually ends budget impasses.”
Tell me — when you are in a hostage situation, what does “split-the-difference” mean?
And if Trump goes further declaring a “national emergency”, how is that different from cocking his gun?
This confrontation is not a squabble. If isn’t even just an arm-twist to extort $5.7 billion.
It is an attempted coup d'état.
McConnell already has capitulated. No bill will go to a Senate vote unless Trump has made prior approval.
That leaves only the House to oppose Trump’s demand of $5.7 billion to release the shutdown and 800,000 hostages. If Pelosi agrees, Trump has established that his “gimme thus, gimme that” cannot be turned down provided he is willing to take extreme actions. Which willingness he already has demonstrated.
In sum, if Pelosi blinks, Trump becomes emperor.
17
A steel fence. An iron curtain.
Who are we keeping in? Who are we keeping out?
Ask Lady Liberty at the N.Y. port of entry.
3
The president blurts about his intention to declare a national emergency for a wall that exists as nothing more than a noxiously imaginary talisman for his fragile ego, "... probably I will do it, I would almost say definitely."
These are the words of a strong, principled, thoughtful and determined leader, almost definitely I probably think so.
2
Last night on MSNBC, Bill Kristol made an excellent point. I quote him "loosely" ..."This is not about the wall, it's is about Donald Trump riling up his base. If the wall is so crucial the Trump had two years in which Republicans controlled Congress and could have funded the wall completely " ....so you see, folks, it is not a "national emergency " when for TWO years Republicans in Congress...did...not...fund...the...wall!
Pay attention America, you are being conned!
Not a single dollar of hard earned American taxpayer money for Donald's wall!
24
@Mari
He said that on CNN.
3
@Ortrud Radbod
He also said it on MSNBC so he must have said it on both networks.
3
US, you are your worst enemy. Crumbling infrastructure, schools lacking funding, 800 thousand fed workers not paid, Just...sad...
5
When will this end? Will he declare a national emergency because he says that ballot boxes are being stuffed with imaginary ballots from imaginary non-citizens?
12
Remember who you’re executive branch is when you think of the government. This gov’t is brought to you by FOX news, such as Bill Shine for stagecraft/optics, and ultra rich radio voices like Laura Ingrham and Rush Limbaugh for instruction. Throw in Bill Hannity for color and support.
11
The obvious issue raised by invocations of emergency powers on the whim of a president is that it suggests a second and non democratic form of government. The founders envisioned a balance between three independent branches of government as a way of insuring that no one man could exercise the powers of a king, a form of government that they had just fought a war to be free of. If a president can assume extraordinary emergency powers at will and keep them as long as he wishes he is functionally a king and not a president. This was exactly the situation the founders designed the constitution to prevent. It seems that the main enemy of our democracy is not the Russians or a mad president, rather it has always been the partisan and oblivious disregard of the people’s will by the representatives that the people pick to govern them.
It is a question of the character and dedication assumed to be part of the normal operation of government. The founders could not imagine a situation where a supposedly independent Supreme Court would legalize the payment of bribes to elected officials. They could not imagine that a whole Congress could be reduced to employees of rich corporations or that elections at every level could be swung by the power of wealthy media elites. And so they left this weakness in our system waiting for the mass effects of corporate capitalism and instant global communications to destroy the norms necessary for the constitution to function. This truly is an emergency.
18
Absolutely. Trump is attempting a coup d'état.
McConnell has capitulated. Only Pelosi left standing.
7
It’s no longer about the wall or even Trump.
It’s about drawing a line against Presidential overreach. Congress needs to reassert its powers, even when divided.
Let’s see how far Mitch McConnell is willing to take his signature cynical pragmatism. So far he has done nothing but defer to Trump.
21
Exactly! McConnell is a coward. Makes me wonder what Putin has on him!
13
McConnell might be a coward. But he definitely is bought-and-paid-for by the wealthy wackos running the GOP.
4
Traitor Mitch McConnell is the perfect example of a strange looking man who figured out the game and how to move himself up the ladder.
I doubt Putin cares about him. However, he is definitely a Koch brothers boy.
3
There's no face saving here, both sides stand to lose not win on the wall.
If there's a compromise, a billionaire bully who picks on peasants will be allowed to be a bully by the Dems. Outside of their Washington bubble the whole world will see that they aided and abetted a rich bully to build walls the antithesis of Reagan's call to Gorbachev to "tear down this wall".
America will be seen to be bringing back the iron curtain ironically. Bragging that the rich, and equating Trumpian wealth with false meritocracy, to keep out the poor riff raff is bound to boomerang on America down the road as the more enlightened countries of the world embrace more freedom for all.
Ultimately the wall will reflect the corruption of American leadership and will harm average Americans going forward. The world will know Americans consider themselves superior to others, and they won't parse the Democrats from Trump's Republicans, it will just be remembered as American wall builders embracing less openness and freedoms toward the poor south of the border.
Ultimately wall building reflects failed domestic and foreign policy. It's freedom for the haves only who can buy rights and demonization of the have-nots. Trump's wall will taint the Democrats too.
5
Disagree, the wall will not "taint" Democrats who won back the House in a landslide! We, the People voted to give them power to reign in the disaster called, Trump!
The ones who are tainted are the Republicans, who have take in dark money, colluded with Russians ( see the case of Maria Buttina who helped launder Russian money to the GOP via the NRA).
Republicans have shown themselves to be cowards, refusing to put country over party! And by the way.....Republicans controlled Congress the last two years by a huge margin, why didn't they fund Donald's wall...completely?!
7
@Speke: I also disagree. The risk here is that Trump will go to any extreme to force gifting him $5.7 billion. Not so much for the money as to set a precedent that in a game of chicken he has the winning hand.
If Pelosi won’t buckle, giving Trump complete control over Congress, he will use “National Emergency” to circumvent Congress. That overreach will go to the Supreme Court and it is not clear that the Court will rule against him.
In any case, pursuing a case will take a long time, and meanwhile Trump can use emergency powers to shut down the internet, censure the press, take over TV, and put the army in our streets.
3
If the wall is so critical why oh why didn’t the Republicans get it done when they had total control of the government? It’s not critical for border security, but it is critical to this demagog we have for a president.
I’m reading the Hand Maid’s Tale and it’s frightening to to have Trump and Pence at the helm threatening to declare a national emergency over a fake emergency.
14
Frank, I keep asking this same question to Conservatives who seem to forget that THEY not the "Dems" controlled Congress for the last two years!
5
“I have the absolute right to do national emergency if I want,” Mr. Trump told reporters on Wednesday. “My threshold will be if I can’t make a deal with people that are unreasonable.”
Should an American president who is unfamiliar with the verb “declare” attempt to fathom the complexities of negotiations with adult politicians?
I read and re-read the second presidential statement quoted above. The syntax... Then, both statements again, from the beginning...
Wow. This is unbelievable.
We truly do have a spoiled child in the Oval Office.
12
This is indeed a slippery slope, if Trump decides to declare a national emergency when the only emergency that exists throws the legitimacy of his wall claims into question, and threatens to damage his reelection prospects.
What would be next, an Erdogan-inspired emergency based on fallacious claims of Democratic voter fraud? A national emergency when the country's military leaders refuse an order to leave NATO? A national emergency when an "out of control judiciary" rules that the president is not above the law, and must respond to a Special Counsel subpoena?
The wall may just be another one of Trump's dumb ideas, but the ramifications of a president who shuts government down every time he fails to get his way, and who doesn't have a clue how to deal with a house of Congress in opposition should alarm us all.
9
I hope Trump does declare a national emergency and gets his wall. Because then the next Democratic president can declare a national heathcare emergency to institute Medicare for All, a climate emergency to shut down coal-fired plants, and an electoral emergency to abolish gerrymandering and voter suppression laws.
A wall that will never actually be built is such a small price to pay for all those things. We can finally move forward. Bring it on!
423
there won't be another election if that happens.
20
Won't need one. Pelosi will be president by summer.
25
@phil239
You an add abolishing the electoral college in favor of a direct popular vote.
45
The only National emergency that exists in this country, is the doofus that's living in the White House.
11
Trump is ignoring the fact that he is not the sovereign head of state like a king or an emperor. If he uses emergency powers to satisfy some dumb campaign promise not some serious and immediate threat to the lives and welfare of all, he’s exceeding his authority. The sovereignty of the state is retained by the people and they delegate sovereign responsibilities in a legally constrained way to their elected representatives. In order to deal with the unpredictable events of life the precise conduct of affairs are not specified as they are in legal contracts where if something is not explicitly stated parties may just act in ways that they might wish and let the lawyers resolve the conflicts. Trump fails to understand that his job is to manage the government for the people not to play the government as an instrument to serve himself. At some point this kind of behavior by any President must be stopped or the rule of law will become hopelessly impossible.
9
The national emergency at the border, if ever there was one, was several years ago. Since then, illegal border crossings have slowed down.
Define “emergency”, Mr. Trump.
3
@Inkspot
While illegal crossings have decreased, I'd still consider the numbers below to be a crisis.
"In the past two years, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service arrested 266,000 illegal aliens with criminal records (127,992 in 2017 and 138,177 in 2018). That number included nearly 100,000 violent assaults, 4,000 murders, 30,000 sex crimes. Pause for a moment and think about that. Every one of those crimes was entirely avoidable, unnecessary, and the result of government’s failure to perform it’s most solemn duty: protecting the lives of its citizens."
https://amgreatness.com/2019/01/09/americas-southern-border-isnt-just-a-crisis-its-a-disgrace/
“My threshold will be if I can’t make a deal with people that are unreasonable.”
And there it is, in a nutshell. Trump is the arbiter of reasonableness. People who see things differently from Trump are unreasonable--not mistaken, mind you--unreasonable.
With that self-view, Trump is psychologically unable to compromise. Anyone who disagrees with him must be unreasonable, crazy, or in bad faith. "My way or the highway"--hardly a characteristic of a leader; more a characteristic of a two-year-old having, as Senator Schumer noted, "a temper tantrum."
If one looks at it carefully, Trump's entire life has been a temper tantrum.
12
The Republicans beginning with Gingrich popularized the government shutdown as a tactic to circumvent the normal legislative process despite the costs to the taxpayer, the negative effects on our national credit rating, the hardships to federal employees and related businesses. McConnell shreds The Constitution to deny a sitting president a Supreme Court pick. Now this Republican president wants to abuse his authority by claiming a false emergency to again bulldoze his way through Constitutionally mandated Congressional involvement. This is not conservatism . This is a rouge , extremist party untethered to the rule of law.
13
The only crisis is the government shutdown. He should address that quickly.
4
Presidential face-saving gets people killed. Just ask the 57,939 names etched in the black granite of the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, DC. Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon did not want to be seen as soft in Indochina, so committed and recommitted American troops to an undeclared war that had only one benefit—it ended.
Trump declaring a national emergency so he and the Democrats can restart parts of the federal government is a version of what Johnson and Nixon did, just small bore—like Trump. The precedent it establishes, however, is huge.
Once Trump has tasted the power nectar of that forbidden fruit, we can expect he will want seconds and thirds. As the investigations circle closer around him, he will find reasons to repeat, extend, and expand any state of national emergency.
If Congressional leaders and members agree even tacitly to such a path forward, they will be complicit.
15
If Trump does indeed declare a national emergency, it will be interesting to see how the so-called "originalist" GOP justices on the Supreme Court will try to square Trump's blatantly authoritarian usurpation of legislative power with the Founders' "original" constitutional doctrine of separation of powers.
Let the mental gymnastics begin!
8
I can’t believe the NY Times and Charlie Savage of all people are encouraging Trump to abuse the law beyond the breaking point. How is declaring a fictitious “emergency” where there is none a “facesaving” measure? I think the law says that Congress can vote to override such a power grab but with the servile, cowardly Republicans that’s no sure thing. It’s also not beyond the realm of possibility that the right-wing Supreme Court refuses to overturn such a decision. Then we’d have an extremely dangerous precedent for Trump and future proto-dictators. Instead of encouraging this lawlessness why isn’t the NY Times arguing that shutdowns are blackmail and totally unacceptable in a democracy? Or putting heat on McConnell to let the Senate vote on a continuing resolution? It’s impossible to believe that one cowardly hyperpartisan individual like McConnell is enabled to stop our entire government. I think I smell the Reichstag burning. We’re going to end up with a permanently paralyzed government by Presidential “Emergency” Decree.
9
@EJS
Kudos!
Your well-considered comment points out the possibly disastrous long term effects of settling for an expedient way out of our current political stalemate.
Precedents are not merely “pesky.” They can set the stage for fundamental change. I do not look forward to a time when political impasses are resolved by presidential decarations of national emergency.
I find that notion to be disquieting in the extreme.
5
For Trump's entire elitist life, not immediately getting his own way has been sufficient grounds for his loudly declaring an emergency of "truly epic proportions". His act of shutting down the federal govenment is simply his presidential equivalent of holding his breath until he turns blue. It's time to put this snowflake to bed without his supper.
4
President Trump is clearly drunk on power and the more he abuses it the closer we slide towards authoritarianism and the destabilization of our democratic government as w3 know it. Vladimir Putin is pleased.
9
No Dems or independents must waiver here.
There must be no funding for a border wall on our southern border. Zero!
DJT committed to this.
Let him figure it out while he marinates in his own incompetence.
He has no way out that is good for him and/or the GOP and he knows it! And mitch just doesn’t care.
5
My regret is that he didn’t keep is promise that he could shoot someone in the middle of 5th Avenue and still have supporters
Why didn’t he keep that promise????? Too bad his supporters didn’t dare him.
He would be in jail for armed assault of another person.
Jail is better than Oval Office.
5
@Manderine
Tell that to the guy who got shot.
1
The criticism is silly. If Congress doesn't like it, pass a law that prohibits using emergency powers to do things like build a wall.
It's typical of liberals. They complain about billionaires using tax loopholes. Well then pass a law to close the loopholes! Duh.
1
There is such lunacy and illogic in claiming that the WALL is an emergent issue. If it were, the Republicans who had control of the government in the past two years could have passed a bill to fund it. But they didn't because they likely thought it was not a priority or that many of them were also lukewarm about the idea. Suddenly it becomes a cause celebre for this pugilistic man who cannot survive without a punching bag to hold on to his narrow base.
Declaring this a faux national emergency is a dangerous precedent and potentially a prelude to more drastic things, like martial law -- a tool autocrats use for undermining democracy. Think Marcos and the Philippines, Erdogan and Turkey. Suddenly the Man-child discovers a great toy to play with!
6
The real culprit here is McConnell who has ceded the will of the people, speaking through Congress, to the will of the President. He has refused to put a bipartisan, virtually unanimous bill to fund the government and negotiate the border issue separately, because, as he says, the President will not sign such a bill. Since when did the Congress adopt such a subservient posture? The Founding Fathers had a solution for such an impasse. Force the president to veto and then attempt an override.
AS in the Garland matter, McConnell is unmoved by the Constitution unless it supports his partisan objective. His is the most destructive presence and threat to the Republic in living memory.
552
@Andrew McConnell is the biggest snake in the pile.
35
@Andrew YES; the Garland issue should haunt McConnell through his 2020 loss.
34
@Andrew THANK YOU! Why are there limited to no articles about McConnell's role in this? Before this mess the Senate literally passed a spending bill that had enough votes could have overturned a Presidential veto. Why are we not talking about this more?
I never comment on these things, but I saw your note and was like YES! We should be putting just as much pressure on McConnell as we are on Trump.
51
A good way to end the crisis is for the 1000 top corporations to sponsor 800 federal workers each. What a big public relations boost it would be for say GM to make up the paycheck for 800 families. Each corporation could send the funds to the agency that pays the Federal employees.
If the employees could not be held hostage as bargaining chips, the shutdown could end pretty quickly.
Sent from my iPhone
If nothing else, this presidency has proved to most of the country that the legislative branch - the Senate in particular - has ceded too much power to the executive branch. Time for the Senate to get to work and quit letting the executive run roughshod over everyone who believes in democracy.
8
He will win this battle and lose the war.
Abuse of authority works both ways. I doubt dems will follow this type of game plan but now that the precedent has been made, threats will work both ways.
2
The country has been in a state of emergency since the day that the Obama administration announced evidence of Russian Interference in our national election. This crisis has escalated as Mr. Trump has lurched from one self created emergency to another.
4
Impeachment should be the result if Trump strips Congress of the power of the purse.
4
Agreeing or disagreeing with the wall itself is entirely beside the point right now. At issue is whether a President can hold the country hostage for an expensive project because he cannot get congressional approval. What makes this particular case more insulting is that Trump has made practically zero effort getting this project passed with a proper proposal to Congress. He just dictated what he wanted with no debate and expects them to roll over and show their bellies. If the GOP had any guts they would throw McConnell out for blocking the vote and then override Trumps veto of the bill they already passed. It doesn’t matter if it’s the Wall, or Space Force, or some other issue: Trump or any President should not be allowed to manufacture an “emergency” to ram through pet projects.
319
Actually, it is Fox News that dictated that there be a wall and I do think that they debated this within Fox News a little bit. Your problem is that you think Congress still runs the country.
20
@Mike_F: "Dictated" as in Dictatorship hits it right on the nose.
5
@Bobotheclown you are correct! Trump was admonished by Fox for thinking of negotiating. Then he reluctantly visited the border for a photo op (for Fox). If he doesn't do what they want, they'll skewer him on their political channel and try to ruin him with his harebrained base. They made him, they can break him.
4
If Trump does declare a national emergency over a false claim and gets away with it, what then? Where will he stop? He has 2 years and God knows what else he'll do with emergency powers.
Fire Special Counsel Mueller because his office is attempting to undermine the Executive Branch. Or move funding set by Congress to wherever he pleased to satisfy his own whims, maybe $20 billion more for the wall.
The harm he could cause is incalculable.
372
@cherrylog754
The harm he is already causing is very calculable. The 60% of the American people who do not support him are basically being disenfranchised. He is doing gerrymandering “better than anyone before”. It’s frightening.
43
I think we all know what Trump will do with two years of emergency powers. Declare himself president for life, cancel elections, and move a $Trillion dollars into his offshore accounts.
But isn’t this what the voters wanted? Surely they understood what they were voting for. This is (was) America after all.
27
@cherrylog754
Which is why democracy is fortress.
Democracy is the Wall to protect us from unbridled and impulsive power, for impulse, like addiction, is the opposite of freedom. We are learning, thanks to Trump's imperialistic leadership, that the Wall provided by democracy is a lot tougher and higher than the Trump unilateral tantrum. The House of Representatives, which represents the majority of the American people (in contrast with the Senate, which is an old vestige of gentry, aristocratic, land interests), wants to respond to the crisis with the right tools: speedier processing that keeps everyone safe. Our democracy was engineered with checks and balances to slow things down between impulse and implementation. We're fortunate, given Trump's assaults on it, that it withstands them so well. It's only a matter of time before Mr. Trump shoots himself in his own foot, on Fifth Avenue, and it wouldn't cost him a single vote, assuming he can get it out of his mouth long enough to pull the trigger, which of course, thanks to the Second Amendment, he is perfectly within his rights to do.
9
I have the absolute right to do national emergency if I want,” Mr. Trump told reporters on Wednesday.
“...if I want.”
That’s what this is all about. The man-child in the White House wants this bauble, his signature vanity piece, and will do anything he needs to do to get what he “wants.”
No concern with what is best, or decent, or necessary, or important, or essential, or humane, or anything else. Just what trump “wants.”
The Democrats are absolutely correct to deny this temper tantrum any reward. Like any parent of a difficult child, they know if they give trump what he “wants,” trump will just use the same hold-my-breath-till-I’m-blue strategy every time he doesn’t get what he “wants.”
That’s not governing. It’s lack of impulse control.
We deserve better than that.
607
@Ernest Zarate He’s being supported and enabled by McConnell and the cowardly Republicans.
52
“Do” a national emergency?! The only national emergency here is the threat of Trump’s ego and insatiable need for attention being allowed to supplant the legitimate needs of over 300,000,000 human beings who live in this country and fund, with their daily toil and payment of taxes, the colossal dysfunction that is US government. We aren’t afraid of migrants at the border, we are afraid of Trump.
50
The Democrats can not stop him. They are the ones that passed the emergency powers acts in the first place. What goes around...
2
When Trump implemented tariffs on imported Canadian metals,on national security grounds, he put in place a specific defined policy. His border wall plan is undefined .The " what ", "where" and " why" and actual steps to implement the plan will be necessary for a legal challenge to his policy when steps are taken to implement it. Without a real justiciable controversy, a federal court will have no facts to decide.Litigation will force Trump to define and act on his plan.As of now , the people do not know what his specific plan is. Trump should be forced to show his cards.Litigation will open the government and expose Trump's lack of a plan.
3
Federal courts will be loath to issue opinions that could constraint the ability of the government to address emergencies, so a direct holding on the constitutionality of the laws in question may be unlikely, but it may also be unnecessary. Invoking emergency powers, while helpful and arguably necessary, certainly undermines bicameral and presentment (i.e., the House and Senate pass legislation and the president signs legislation into law). If this constitutional requirement can be bypassed at all, a question the court can put aside, the president’s emergency actions should be narrowly tailored to resolve the emergency, a question the federal courts would be willing to address.
Since experts indicate that the construction of a wall, as proposed by the president, would take 10 years to construct, exclusive of any challenges by property owners, a federal judge could feel comfortable holding that the wall is not a narrowly tailored response to current border crossing or humanitarian issues. Accordingly, the court would find the president’s actions are not a lawful exercise of emergency powers, even assuming such powers are constitutional.
In this way, the question of the wall is legally resolved without having to address the thorny issue of the constitutionality of the president’s emergency powers.
106
This assumes the courts can still work under a state of emergency. Have you read all of the powers Trump can assume under these measures?
9
@JEG Spoken like a true Supreme Court Justice!
1
@JEG
SCOTUS did it to Truman. They can do it to Trump.
It will be mighty difficult to lie to SCOTUS and get away with it.
1
Since Trump assumed office is there anyway to determine the amount of money spent by the Administration on lawsuits and court appearances they needlessly caused? The Republicans promoted a candidate who had been involved in over 3,000 lawsuits before taking office. Doesn't that figure reveal a hideous flaw in the manner he conducts his life? The caravan disappeared after the election and now he claims there is a national emergency at the border. The national emergency is the unfit Trump acting as president, Pence posing as Vice President and thanking Rush Limbaugh for his help and the Trump kids who scurry under the radar to snatch and grab. Why is the Tower at the Trump Hotel in Washington run by the National Park Service still open? The Coast Guard is not being paid but they have been given recommendations on how to ride the storm: have garage sales, walk dogs, baby-sit in order to survive. Trump, Pence, Graham, Mc Connell, the Freedom Caucus and will be remembered as creating the darkest hours in U S history above any wars, terrorist acts and Joe McCarthy. They will be vilified and scorned, they won't be around to experience it but their progeny will be stained.
18
@rhdelp Right on! Thanks for your concise message
If Trump abuses The power of the Presidency for his pet project by declaring a national emergency where one does not exist, what is to stop any other President from following the same path and declaring a national emergency to address the actual health care crisis and give free Medicare for all or an educational emergency and give free college tuition or any other nut brained thing that strikes their fancy?
6
there won't be another president. if he gets away with this absolutely expect elections to be suspended due to national emergency.
3
When Trump imposed draconian unilateral, tariffs on our allies in the EU and Canada on “national security grounds” nothing was said by those who knew better.
What national security suddenly became imminent to spur these tariffs?
Now that he’s threatening to invoke emergency powers to sideline Congress, everyone is up in arms.
This exercise will be just one more example of the fraudulence of Republicans and Conservatives in their professed belief in the Constitution, et al.
165
@Sam : Thank-you Sam. Canadians on a daily basis are shaking our collective heads at the insanity and lies coming out of the White House by the lunatic who abuses his power every day. This latest lunacy is just one more example of how unfit Donald Trump truly is; and how the best thing Americans can do for the world is to rein this liar and demagogue in by any and all means possible. He is a nightmare without end.
20
@Greg Hodges
I'm so embarrassed. So is the majority of Americans. We will do better soon. 2020 here we come.
12
@Bobotheclown It was not a majority of the people, it was a majority of the Electoral College. Both of the last Republican presidents have been minority party presidents.
15
Declaring a “national emergency” to build a border wall would be one more impeachable offense with or without Mueller’s report.
When is someone going to protect the working and middle class tax-payer? He spent $1.3T on the tax cuts. He couldn’t have set aside $5B for the wall in that bill?
He had two years to get the wall through the House and Senate, but he never made the argument. The House and Senate reps running for office are not protected by Trump, they are insulted, betrayed, and undermined.
The Republicans in the House and Senate passed $1.3T in tax cuts without Democrats’ help. Why didn’t they pass the funds for the wall?
Why is this a national emergency all of a sudden? And why do our tax dollars have to pay for it? That wasn’t the deal.
270
@Kat
Hannity, Coulter, Carlson, & Stephen Miller are telling him he is losing face by not building a wall. Those are his advisers not the professionals who have spent years assessing dangers & security risks.
20
@Kat Trumps needs 60 votes in the Senate to override a filibuster, by the Democrats, without a Senate rules change. They were only 51 Republicans Senators in the first place, a few of them were not supportive of some of Trump's actions. Just like when the Democrats were very supportive of a border wall they knew Obama would veto. However, it gave them cover with their voters. Both sides play this game.
1
@Kat. You’re spot on and I don’t understand why democrats aren’t making this point over and over. Trump has been talking about this wall for years, so how is it now an answer to an emergency? And why didn’t he push harder for it when Republicans controlled both the House and Senate? I suspect Republicans thought they could win back some Republican support if they could pin the shutdown on Democrats and accuse the Dems of being soft on national security.
4
Smelling a little late republic around here. Another 10 years and government shut down will be the norm and presidential emergency authority will be our replacement government.
Maybe some serious people can begin with asking about what happens after the inevitable end of this republic and how it’s follow up government(s) would work.
13
What a waste of resources and unnecessary hardships for a lot of workers for one man who has no idea what it’s like to miss a paycheck. Shame.
23
I am appalled the Emergencies Act exists, but I din’t see how exercising power under a duly passed and signed law violates Constitutional norms.
6
The President and the Congress are elected representatives of the people, all of the people. They have no authority to just use the government to serve themselves. That is the basic social contract that the Constitution represents in any state where government is legally based upon the consent of the governed. There does not need to be a clause in the document that these elected representatives may not prevent the government from serving the people to satisfy their partisan or personal desires. Trump is deliberately defying his oath of office.
7
it's one of the first steps in countries like Russia, Poland, Hungary, and Philippines. Nothing stays the same - it pushes against original intent and then keeps going.
2
I’m one of the 60 million people that voted for Trump and want the wall. It’s not just something he wants. It’s something we want and we represent the electoral majority of the Country.
"Many legal experts nevertheless expect that in the inevitable litigation, the Justice Department would pressure judges not to even consider the facts, arguing that courts must defer to the president’s judgment about whether an emergency exists rather than substituting their own thinking."
This is an amazing statement--just think about it before banging your head against a wall, no pun intended.
Phrases such as " not even consider the facts," " defer to the president's judgment about what constitutes an emergency" are potentially huge giveaways to a president--especially this president-- whose falsehoods about the border amount to demagoguery.
And what precedent! Knowing Donald Trump's contempt the law, isn't the Emergency Powers act the perfect way for this autocrat to do what he pleases?
It doesn't take much imagination to picture how this president could really run with this.
Conservatives are lining up against Trump using this open-ended expansumion of executive power because of what a Democratic president could do with it.
I don't care about hypotheticals, this is now. As a concerned citizen, I worry about the abuse of such power by a corrupt president increasingly boxed in by a mess of his own making.
517
I've noticed an odd thing in comments since Trump was elected. The writers are reacting to something an expert said might happen as if it has happened. The comments continue on the imaginary act until it appears to be an established fact and condemned as another example of a Trump outrage.
4
Emergency powers are dictatorial powers and no president should ever have access to them. The fact that Congress has passed over 40 such emergency measures, many with no time limit, is an act of legislative malpractice if not treason.
The whole point of the balance of powers is that all presidents must be contained. There must always be limits to what they can do and those limits must be defined through specific law and not rest on norms or custom. But that is not the situation that we find ourselves in today. Not only do we have the first madman president, we learn that past Congresses have legislatively handed over to the executive all of their normal enumerated powers for use when a magic word (“emergency”) was spoken. The only reason we still have a functioning democracy is that no previous president has decided to take it away. But that time has now come.
Trump is clearly astounded at the prospect of these new and extraordinary powers and is salivating to use them. The unanswered constitutional crises of the last two years are about to be supplanted by a new and unplanned form of government, one which includes no checks and balances, or role for Congress. It’s been a comedy so far, but once Trump starts to arrest his critics (a power given to him under emergency powers) it will become a tragedy that will look like what we see happening in countries all over the globe. This administration might not only go down in history, it might be the last in the history of America.
40
@ChristineMcM
I am also concerned.
Thank you for your comment and your past comments. I agree with you and look forward to reading your comments in the future.
13
Trump is much too much of a coward to take this step. He can bully all he wants but will never take the final step to declare a national emergency. He has no backbone and it’s so obvious.
1
@Susan
He does not care. Like he said about running up the deficit and torpedoing the economy - “I won’t be around when that happens”.
Has TSA closed down the airports yet? Do it now. This would end the nonsense very quickly.
12
A stalemate. It was bound to arrive at this point. Two massive forces, walking around the school halls amassing popular support. Each determined to be elected Student Council President. The holder of the gavel. Now they stand nose to nose in a narrow hallway.
One of the big guys has to backup. A reporter for the student newspaper stands ready to record the confrontation, pencil in hand. Foul names are exchanged. A push. A return shove. Soon they are both throwing untrained punches, to little effect except to draw a circling, cheering crowd!
The fight continues until a gym teacher arrives, yanks the two apart and drags them to the Principal’s office. Both tough guys get expelled from school. The third candidate, a young Puertoricana whom everyone secretly liked the best, wins the presidency of the student body!
2
Ocasio-Cortez won't go any farther than her post right now. Way too abrasive, and she shows too much hate for her opposition.
4
How ironic when it is "her opposition" that is the root of hate in this country.
1
@BorisRoberts: Showing too much hate for the opposition didn't stop Trump from getting elected. Republicans seem to be fine with electing folks who openly express contempt for anyone who doesn't agree with them. Don't blame the Democrats if they get tired of being the punching bags and decide to punch back.
3
All of this so trump can say he kept his promise! Really! The fallout from this shut down is increasing daily. At some point the republican will have to except that there is no pleasing a person who only cares about his own self. What has happen to we the people?
3
Well, we the 60 million people that represent the electoral majority of the Country and the people that elected him are supportive of his efforts to build the wall.
1
William there is no wall being built it is a fence. I was in El Paso over the holiday and got to see it. You can run into it with a truck and bring it down. I hope you do not have a rough winter and need FEMA's help. Why? Because trump would like to use the disaster money for the fence.
1
“National Emergency” is always the excuse dictators use to seize power from democracy
26
Yes. Poland, Turkey, Hungary were democracies but one step at a time when enough people are absorbed with something else...it can end. Not over night but it has to be stopped early or not at all.
2
Democracy? You mean like electing a person on the promise of immigration reform, and promising "THE SAME WALL" that Schumer wanted in a previous Administration? THE SAME WALL that Bill Clinton said was needed? And embracing a whole underclass of people, that are here illegally, that you are attempting to give voting rights to, that have paid NO income taxes or hospital Bills, or property taxes, yet are driving down wages (the old story of them doing the jobs Americans won't is just a made up story, since only 3-4% work in Agriculture. The rest do the same jobs most of us do, carpenter, Mason, Landscaper, etc. ), clogging the schools up, yet with no property taxes being paid, the schools get no more money, and driving up hospital costs, which I have to pay for. All for a possible vote. And to make money off them.
Wouldn’t the better headline read that it would be illegal and that if he gets away with it then he has essentially become a dictator?
8
Wasn’t Obama a dictator when, after failing to get Congress to pass DACA, he unilaterally Inacted it through an Executive Order (that was later determined to be unconstitutional)?
@William
President Obama did not declare a National Emergency! And the fact that DACA was determined to be unconstitutional shows that the system was allowed to work.
1
When Trump visits the border in Texas, today, I wonder if he'll take candy to a detention center and hand it out to the children that he has in cages?
We'll all be watching this reprehensible, unqualified failing President closely today.
As usual, he'll not disappoint when a makes a monumental fool of himself, again.
This embarrassment needs to go. Now!
18
Trump certainly knows that if he invokes emergency powers that based on the Youngstown Steel case he’ll lose in court. Unlike Harry Truman he doesn’t have a case with there being no evidence of any national security crisis on the southern border other than the humanitarian one he’s created. Why the Congressional Democrats are unwilling to challenge this illegal shutdown that’s a blatant case of Executive overreach is the question that needs to be answered. When there is a dispute between the Executive and Legislative branches that’s when an appeal to the third, Judicial, branch is required. It’s time to act to end humanitarian crisis on the border, end the suffering of furloughed federal workers, and the real threat it poses to our economy, our safety as T.S.A. workers stage a sickout, and to our democracy posed by a callous autocrat.
5
We are not talking about “the case for impeachment” anymore. I thought David Leonhardt article was very compelling when he identified four distinct causes for removal from office, and he asked “what are we waiting for?”
It appears that it takes a National State of Emergency to take that heat off of the Trump Family.
15
Mitch McConnell should be receiving much more of the blame for this shutdown debacle. As the so-called leader of a co-equal governmental body, it is his job to introduce legislation, not refuse to bring bills to the floor if the President threatens a veto. The framers put the mechanisms in place for the veto of bills, and for the Congress to override if they have the votes. McConnell has abrogated his role — something he has done since he announced in 2008 that his goal was to make sure Barack Obama was a one term president. He has shown himself to be no more than a partisan hack and the Republicans in the Senate would do well to force his removal and attempt to once again become a true legislative body.
54
He is more than a partisan hack. He is the agent of a foreign power, the Confederate States of America.
4
Trump couldn’t get his wall funded when his party controlled all three branches. Why should he be able to get it funded now? The Dems are doing a terrible job making this point.
Reopen the government without the wall with a veto-proof majority, bypassing McConnell. Why is no one talking about this?
11
@Barbara8101 the Senate Majority Leader absolutely controls what the Senate votes on. McConnell must be removed, either through a coup or by 4 moderate Republicans switching parties.
2
Trump is testing checks and balances. If he gets away with declaring and emergency and uses military funding-he will declare an emergency again and arrest those we who disagree with him. The GOP is afraid to stand up to Trump. McConnell and Ryan let him have his way. Ryan is gone and McConnell will be next. Lock her/him will be his rally cry for who ever stands in his way.
12
Given the results of the mid-term elections, a fight over immigration and the border is something the Democrats should welcome with open arms.
Trump's base of 36 percent will support him and ravage any Republican who opposes the Trump Wall. Meanwhile, Democrats can pick up many of the 22 Republican Senate seats up for election in the 2020 and the White House as well.
Meanwhile, Trump's Wall ploy can be stopped in the Courts and Federal workers can be paid and we can refocus on the Mueller probe.
7
Even if Trump ends the government shutdown by a national emergency declaration it will only take the political fight to a new level when the debt ceiling is reached. At that point we could have a default triggering a second Great Depression. And if that is averted we have the next round of appropriations by October 1.
Get ready for two rough years.
7
Move ahead, Trump! If you lose the battle in the courts, the next time the issue surfaces, shut down the government permanently. The wall issue got you elected the first time and if Democrats continue this charade you will most likely be elected again. I certainly do not like Trump because he is polished. I could care less whether or not he talks to Russians or builds a hotel in Moscow. I could care less what language he uses or how much he offends the elite establishment and media. Social programs are needed but nothing is more important than keeping the country safe.
4
We do not deserve to have the government shut down because we have leaders including Democrats unwilling to negotiate. Period. But I especially blame Trump who has WALKED AWAY from good deals three times because he wants only his way, while not spending the money he was given last year by his own Congress - where is the care for safety there? Closing down the government harms citizens, workers, and the economy, wastes money, and makes us look like a Mickey Mouse joke of a country that deserves no respect and may not even be counted on to steadily pay its bills. That does not align with my ideas of national security. I pay my taxes on time for these services, I expect government stability. All of these theatrics of his are designed to please people like you who think it is tough, even though you know that if you practiced such tactics in your marriage or business you would be a failure. Personally I would not marry, work for, or go into business with a dictator and I did not elect one.
7
Why exactly do you feel so threatened? Is “our” safety really your first consideration? Didn’t your mother teach you anything about caring for others?
4
@Confused Those willing to trade freedom for safety will get neither. This is all on him and not just because he said he would take ownership of it. There are any number of border security initiatives he COULD implement instead of a wall that Democrats likely would agree to (negotiation?). But he is stuck on a wall/ fence, this is how governance works, both sides negotiate a compromise, not one side destroys the government of the United States because it doesn't get it's way. From the Democrats perspective, if they give in now, they will be giving on for the rest of his time in office. They were elected to hold Trump accountable, and now he has to govern, not storm out of a meeting like a spoiled child.
2
Well you know what this means my fellow Americans.
The next president can do the exact same thing.
The next democratic president ( and there probably won’t be a Republican for several election cycles) who wants Medicare for all Americans and finds that the congress and senate wont pass or fund it, hey.......
Go to the national emergency crisis fund.
Once this clown-bigot-narcissist pulls this stunt, it open doors for all presiding presidents.
If the courts won’t stop the bigot clown this time....it’s green light for Medicare for all when we have a democrat in the white house.
10
The chaos and destruction of rule of law Trump is creating can no longer be tolerated. We are truly at a cross-road here.
McConnell must allow a Senate vote and potentially a veto.
We have been tortured for two years by the thugs in DC who do not do their job as an equal branch, acquiescing to every racist whim of Trump’s.
They conduct meetings and “investigations” in the dark without an iota of transparency and then prevent Democrats from participating or having an equal opportunity - the latest now being to interview Barr before the hearings next week.
They no longer can be looked upon as mere pawns in Trump’s checkers game, rather as traitors and thugs, equally committed to the destruction of this country.
It’s time to start considering impeachment of McConnell, who has played fast and furious with our Constitution from the day Obama was elected. This worthless, spineless “representative” has committed more egregious acts as leader than Trump. His disproportionate power, representing a state with barely 1% of the COUNTRY’S population, has been used for evil. He is the poster child of why we must change how representation works in this nation.
We’ve listened too long to the issue of ensuring small states have a voice. The truth is the big states have no voice any longer, and yet they are the key contributors to the coffers of this nation. The small states, by and large are the takers of this money. Witness Kentucky who is the #2 state in federal assistance
24
The answer is to impeach this roque Russian asset now! We are trillions in debt and somehow we need to find money for a President’s folly. We just had Republicans refusing President Obama on just about everything and now your telling us Obama should have just declare a crisis to get what he wanted. What is wrong with the Press even writing an article like this. Where is the democracy in this country. Are we to give all power to the Presidency? We are in a crisis and what we should be calling for is the removal of the crisis in chief. He was never legitimately elected anyway. Democracy is being damaged and not even the NYT cares enough to try to stop it. The Times needs to get behind impeachment now or history will look sadly at a Press that just stood and watched.
11
The bottom line is that Trump doesn't even care about building a wall. He just wants his base to see him fighting for a wall. The more he fights and the crazier he becomes, the more his base loves him, which says it all for about 40 percent of our country's population.
21
Indeed. Those people are the real, enduring problem we have to deal with, not their attention-seeking demagogue.
2
The only emergency here is that Trump can't get what he wants. The whole point of the refusal to fund the wall is to assert some Congressional restraint on him. His campaign promise was foolish and did not serve any purpose for the country, it was a pure political stunt. If this is all it takes to declare an emergency, then we have become a monarchy and Congress should just adjourn and go home. If Trump does go forward with this, I would hope the Supreme Court would understand the urgency of restoring the checks and balances established in the constitution and intervene quickly to assert the role of the third party of this fading democracy. And, by the way, his toying publicly with this action is, once again, gradually introducing the idea in order to "normalize" illegal and wrong headed actions. This article is only enabling his conduct, shame on you.
14
This sounds right. Trump is a con man not a negotiator. To save face he will take this path just as the times predict. His sheep will boo the dems and chant lock them up and cheer when he says Mexico will pay for it!
7
So how long would this so-called state of emergency last? Until he loots the military, or do we have to endure years of this, given that it would take years to build this monumental mistake?
How long does the government stay open before he decides that we need a ladder to the moon? (The moon men will pay for it, Buh-lieve me.)
10
There are major doubts that Trump actually has the authority to claim a national emergency, especially over something that is not a national emergency. This decision would only throw this fiasco into the court system. He could have had his wall with the GOP in control of both Houses but this didn't become an emergency until Mueller's report was close to being released. It's time for this clown to resign and let the grownups take over.
11
This article is one of the most egregious examples of “both side-ism” I’ve ever seen. No, “both sides” don’t need to save face. The president is having a temper tantrum, and the Democrats aren’t caving. The Senate could solve this today and the majority of Americans want them to. It’s not the Democrats’ job to extract Trump from the corner he’s painted himself into.
56
My son has been furloughed because of the shutdown, and however much I want this all to end and for my son’s stress and concerns to go away, he believes otherwise. This is a defining moment, to his way of thinking. Accept the sacrifice, hard as it. Say ‘No’ to Trump, this monster. If we cave, a precedent has been set, and other presidents, moving forward, may blithely ignore and consider the Constitution, and us, the American citizenry, as inconsequential gnats, to be flicked away if need presents. We will become superfluous in these stupid power plays. Though I am filled with anger about this shutdown, I am encouraged by my son’s belief in our Constitution and in his utter belief that Trump must not, cannot have his way here. Hold the course, Democrats!
304
Once there is a state of emergency declared the Democrats are our of the picture. Trump can do what he wants. And I don’t think he wants the government to open.
11
@Aine Donovan
Does any of this remind us of a queen who supposedly said, "Let them eat cake."
6
@Melvyn Magree
No, not at all. The Queen said if the granaries are empty then use existing cake flower to feed the people.
It got distorted by her enemies.
2
This is indeed an overreach.
But to Trump, this is called testing the waters.
The impending indictments from Mueller are inevitable and will surely expose whatever he is hiding via his still to be released tax returns.
Then there are the multitude of criminal and civil lawsuits from the NYAG which are also coming as soon as he is out of the cloak of immunity.
The only way out is for Trump to declare Martial Law and rule like a third world dictator.
This emergency power, much like the emergency broadcast two nights ago, is Trump’s beta testing his dictatorship.
31
They’ve gotten to Mueller already. That’s why his report is taking so long. But the state of emergency will clear everything up and soon we won’t even remember that his investigation ever existed.
1
"An emergency is an unexpected and difficult or dangerous situation, especially an accident, that happens suddenly and that requires quick action to deal with it."
That's one dictionary definition (Collins) of "emergency". Others are similar. What they have in common is "sudden" and "unexpected".
Personally, I use a two-day rule to evaluate circumstances when a friend or relative claims an emergency and wants money or some other imposition. That is, an emergency is something that was not occurring two days prior to being declared. If so, it's not per se an emergency.
It's disconcerting that the president can unilaterally define what an emergency is. The power to declare an emergency should not legally include the power to define an emergency. Otherwise, there's no such thing as objective truth.
25
Unfortunately there is no definition of “emergency” in any of the state of emergency laws. Trumps dictionary defines emergency as “anything I say it is”. Perhaps you need to update your dictionary?
1
@uga muga you are absolutely right. I support a Constitutional amendment to make Presidents get approval from Federal judges to declare an emergency. After all, this is a bigger step than arresting someone (which a judge also has to sign off on).
A Third Option would be The Senate doing its job! Must we choose only between two bad choices?
The votes are there to pass a funding bill. The votes are probably there to override a veto, too. Choose your country for once in your spineless life, McConnell!
89
Exactly. (!)
Thank you, Mark, for expressing this FACT succinctly.
17
He has chosen his country, the Confederate States of America. And I think he has been a loyal fighter for his cause, don’t you?
3
@Mark Thank you for posting this. It makes sense to me that Pelosi's strategy is to make it so that McConnell ends up having to have his (mostly) boys vote to override a veto. That will be the breaking point. Predicting how long this will take is not my thing, and I'm sorry the pawns in this are those not receiving paychecks.
2
Senator Schumer and Majority Leader Pelosi, please consider using this line.
“Federal workers cannot go to their private charitable foundations to write an illegal check for their children’s Scout dues. Most Federal workers cannot ask their father to go buy them millions of dollars in casino chips to hold off the creditors. Trump’s desire to call a national emergency to fund his border wall, pulling needed money from the defense budget to fund his vanity project, is exactly like buying portraits of himself using his charitable foundation.”
To those working class people who think Trump is on your side, he is a typical spoiled rich boy, who has no understanding of the struggles facing everyday American families, who can’t get hundreds of millions of dollars from their daddy.
Then stress how you are for “smart” border security, fiscal responsibility, not one stupid man’s outdated, ineffectual vanity project. America does not need or want another portrait of a con man.
37
Drop the mic
4
The working class people who voted for Trump are going to get what they deserve. So there may not be democracy in our future but there will always be karma.
3
This is Trump using the extortion method that he is very used to from childhood. He has fixated on this wall distraction.The Republicans go right along, passive leaches stuck to him. Meanwhile The business of governing the whole country takes a back seat. This sordid sideshow is holding up real work on real problems that need to be dealt with, chaos is creeping in, the chaos surunding this president wherever he goes. We need to get rid of this circus. Unbelievable mess. Incompetence on steroids.
26
They are not passive leeches. They are coconspirators who have sold us out. This is America after all, the land where money talks.
2
He had 2 yrs with the Republican Congress to get the funding. Now it's the Democrats fault that it is not funded and we have a shutdown? Dems should stick to their guns - no funding.
54
So 45 wants our tax dollars directed towards building this wall but doesn’t pay any taxes so that none of his will?
Doesn’t require a party identity or affiliation to see 45’s hypocrisy.
30
Schumer and Pelosi are just as much to blame - the wall is stupid, but it’s not nearly as stupid as shutting down the government over a fraction of 1% of its operating budget. To me this seems no different than the seemingly standard practice of pork barrel spending regularly used to get votes to pass bills. The big difference is that this guy campaigned (and won) on building this wall.
2
@Tim Mosk
Someone (Schumer and Pelosi) has finally confronted Trump on his delusional wall and they're to blame?!! Do you think by not confronting him and facing reality, he would cease from being insane and do the right thing?
22
He campaigned on Mexico paying for the wall. You can’t be intellectually honest while flossing over that fact.
12
So let's waste $5B on a egomaniacal boondoggle that will barely get the wall started? No.
The US does not negotiate with terrorists.
15
Why will you not let your President Mr. Trump build his wall so he can protect you from his many evils coming in your country? He is a good thinker and wants what is best for him and you. My 3rd. Div. friends and I encourage you to come together and build the wall around your President Mr. Trump. Containment of such evil is good.
1
That the Democratic Party would shut down the government, over a mere 5 billion, shows they are political hacks. Even if you believe a border wall is not the best solution, the shut down will cost the federal treasury well north of the 5 billion the Democratic Party objects to spending. Liberalism at its finest; they spend more to fight a small sum than the small sum costs. Thus is a prime example of why taxes should be low and citizens left to spend the money they earn. As a businessman and lawyer, I would tell my client to pay 5 billion to end the shutdown rather than spend way more on a shutdown just to make a point. I tell clients it is never about principal; it is principal and interest or you are a fool. Pelosi, a woman I admired (2 time Speaker is the House) is acting like a fool. America deserves better. Spend 5 billion on a project that at worst is a waste of money and save the federal treasury billions more by this costly shutdown that hurts real American families. Please.
3
Please remember this did not pass when both houses of Congress were on Republican control.
The shut down began under both houses of Congress under Republican control. To blame Nancy Pelosi is disingenuous.
I have lived within 90 miles of the border for 20 years (as close as 36 miles for several of those years) and there is no crisis on the border, unless you are talking about the humanitarian crisis caused by this administration's actions in the last two years.
375
Why wasn’t the wall built when he had a congressional majority then? Why because like a child he has to get his way over a group he perceives in his own head hates him. When you have no core principles this alone is your guiding principle.
25
It takes 60 votes to close discussion of a bill in the Senate. The GOP had the votes in the House, but the Democratic Senators would not allow a closure vote and their support is required to get to 60 votes. Silly rule, but a rule nonetheless.
1
My bigger worry and concern is that this maniac has his finger on the nuclear button. Who cares about the wall! This idiot is so unstable that he's capable of anything. That's what the American people should be worried about. This egomaniac has the ability to destroy civilization. WAKE UP AMERICA!!! The terrorist that is holding America hostage is in the White House. He must be removed now! Before its too late.
17
Imagine a 4 year old who wants something he should not have because it is not his.. He is told "no". He digs in, has a temper tantrum, yells and decides to break something. Part of this tantrum is a distraction from something else he has done that he should not have done. He insists and threatens to do more breaking. Sound familiar? Do you give him what he wants to shut him up? You know where that leads.
15
If you want to have an impact on boarder crossing stop employing people who don't have authorization to work here. That will have more impact than a wall. How many undocumented workers does Trump directly and indirectly employ? At his NJ estate his personal maid, who cleans his room, and who sees everytime he's there is an undocumented employee from Mexico.
18
For Speaker Pelosi to say that a border wall is immoral was a mistake, in my opinion. Border walls are not immoral per se, and the argument should have centered around a wall being completely inefficient. I am always weary when politicians use appeals to emotion to make their arguments, especially when there are other perfectly valid arguments available.
4
I think it’s immoral, absolutely. Does the UK have walls built around England, Scotland, or Ireland? City walls went out of style around 1500. Think about why that is.
3
I am weary. I read these articles with hope that I will see some hint of sanity from this White House but I am usually disappointed.
8
Don’t forget that $5 billion is just a down payment on a ridiculous medieval wall whose costs could easily swell to $100 billion as some estimates have predicted. And then there is the annual cost of maintenance and upkeep. We already have very tall fences in most areas of the border. Where there are no current fences it is because the terrain is so difficult to traverse. Good luck building a wall across those areas. That’s where the cost will go up exponentially.
17
if Trump can treat the border as a national emergency, then another president can that the lack of universal health care or full day kindergarten as a national emergency. Are Republicans (who objected to DACA as an abuse of presidental power) really comfortable ceding so much more to the Presidency?
30
The saying, “Be careful what you wish for,” should be remembered by all Republicans who think Trump should invoke emergency powers to get his slogan built. If he can build his wall based upon a mythical crisis that is unsubstantiated by any facts, just imagine what a future president could do to, for example, end the real crisis of epidemic American gun violence by invoking emergency powers to constitutionally regulate guns. Think about it.
38
Korematsu v. United States was overruled by the Roberts Court, so a President cannot suspend constitutional rights even in times of war. And since the decision in District of Columbia v. Heller confirmed the right to keep arms by private citizens is a constitutional right, your concerns appear unwarranted.
Just imagine if there are no future Presidents? Or just imagine if all future presidents are Republican? This is what one party rule and states of emergency get you. Many countries now have right wing one party rule and still call themselves “democracies” because they still have elections. That is what the Republicans plan for us and it is almost here.
3
It might be more cost effective to send $5 billion to Guatemala to fight crime/corruption that drives people north.
33
So that the rich people in charge of Guatemala can steal it like the rest of the aid money? no thanks.
8
Trump is coming at it from the other angle. To introduce corruption into the government and to remove the safeguards of people's health and well being to lower the US to banana republic status so there is no incentive to leave one for another. Ours.
12
I don't care about Congress or the White House saving face. That's not what they're there for. The wall is the wrong way to solve illegal border crossings -- a wall can never be used for anything else, never adapt to changing situations, never learn, but technology can. 5B dollars on the wrong solution would be a travesty considering all the ways 5B could be used productively for immigration and birder security or anything else.
The only national emergency is the way the government jerks everyday people around for personal and political power plays.
41
DJT is right. There is a national emergency.
It’s at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave!
He is just not sure how to fix it.
19
Our esteemed leaders will finance President D. J. Trump's wall IF we are convinced that, by supporting him in defending your country, you will return him to lead your country in 2020. Will you do that? We are ready.
3
Perpetually asleep at the switch, Mitch McConnell is equally to blame. Along with Paul Ryan, he will go down as one of the most feckless political leaders in US history.
48
Feckless? Tell that to Judge Merrick Garland. You may not care for his policies, but the Senate Majority Leader is one of the most effective politicians in the history of the Senate. McConnell is neither weak nor ineffective.
2
He may be an "effective" politician (As he puts his Party's interests ahead of the country's) but he's hardly a credible national leader ( for the same reason).
6
On the one side, potential embarrassment for the President and congressional leaders (ie, the desire to “save face). On the other, grave damage to our constitutional structures.
These are not remotely equivalent, and should not be viewed or discussed as sensible trade-offs.
42
It’s not a emergency when you don’t get your way. Surprised it took this long.
Get ready for a marshal law emergency in 2020
Republicans are a danger to democracy.
80
The real fighting will start when The Commander in Grief asks for billions in funding for the enormous 24 karat gold letters that read “TRUMP WALL”
Now that’s a legacy!
3
Gee, thanks. Today he's going to tweet that even the "fake news left-leaning New York Times" wants him to enact emergency measures. Thanks for putting another arrow in his quiver.
14
Crazy to focus on a wall when there are so many more immediate problems being ignored.
17
Re: "I think we might make a deal..."
Very simply Trump's opening position was: Build a wall. Mexico will pay.
Very simply Trump's compromise position is: Build a wall. The American people will pay.
That's it in a nutshell.
Any claim that Trump is trying to work a deal or that Republicans have compromised is only in who will pay. You!
Whether the wall is the best or most cost effective or only means to achieve border security doesn't matter to him. Only that Trump wants a wall and that you will pay for it. That's it. That's the compromise, a compromise that takes a quarter rather than gives a quarter.
51
It’s time to consider the worst case scenario imaginable - that the Wall actually gets built!
At $5B, it would only be about 1% of the budget. But just imagine the damage the Wall would do to the human rights of the migrants trying to enter our country! And if they can’t enter at will, who will do our landscaping? Who will clean our homes? In my case, I know I’m too busy to, but I’m also not about to pay anywhere near a minimum wage for this kind of work either. And what about the restaurants?!? And the hotels! And construction and big Ag employers! If their access to a continuous stream of cheap labor should contract, and they have to raise wages, we could all be paying pennies, even a dollar or two more, for the things we buy from them!
I don’t know about you all, but I simply won’t stand for such an outrage. If the Wall is built, I plan on mobilizing thousands of my fellow virtuous upper middle class Americans, and we will march down there and tear the Wall down with our own uncalloused hands, so that the migrants can enter at will.
But you know what? Parts of the border supposedly already have a Wall! Why aren’t we tearing those sections down!?! How do we expect to win in 2020 if we don’t stop this Wall madness!?!
Who’s with me? Who wants to head south, to start tearing down immoral sections of border wall and fencing?
6
The $5 billion is just a start. The wall would cost more like $30 billion, maybe more...Trump has never bothered to get an estimate.
Throwing our money away on purpose is immoral.
4
Haha. When America becomes a geezer state like Japan or China or Italy, because resident birth rates decline below replacement levels and the young age cohorts are not being augmented by immigrants who pay more into Social Security than they receive, your children can stew in penury and have robots change their adult diapers. Not so funny? Truth. Your ideal of a white Republican suburban life is dead, dead, dead, and you just don't know it yet.
3
This will end up being Justice Roberts problem. Remember he ruled in favor of ObamaCare, which prevented a social calamity.
7
sure Emergency powers and security laws are a telltale of a dictatorship. But please note that Woodrow Wilson started this game and Roosevelt and Truman abused it. the US is the only country giving the President in practice the power of an emperor. it is a corruption of our constitutional principles which has been developing since the time of Teddy Roosevelt.
so instead of just decrying Trump, Congress should limit the power of any President by law.
12
“My way or the highway” has never been the tactic used by a skilled negotiator or deal maker.
24
If it was such a crisis , why haven't we heard from the Republican governors about how this is imperiling their states? Curious.
36
I think Dems took the House largely because most Americans don’t want a wall.
18
Actually Healthcare was the more pressing issue.
8
By invoking this as a national emergency DJT is acknowledging for all the world to see that a national emergency has been present that puts the lives of US citizens at risk for the for the past two years of his term.
A national emergency that has gone unchecked until now.
So first the past two years with DJT and the GOP in charge of our federal government we have had this crisis on the border?
And no one knew? Except DJT!?
So the tax cut and undermining the ACA was more important than our border safety?
The fact is this national emergency is another GOP manufactured crisis to distract the public from the political and administrative incompetence of this WH.
No crisis at the border!
The only crisis is within the GOP as long as mitch and DJT are involved.
47
Dear GOP: Your incompetence does not create my emergency.
You had two years of control of the government to pass this wall, and you could not—even though you had some Democratic support for a physical barrier. (Never mind that the promise was that Mexico would pay for it....)
You could not get it done—because most Americans, even Republicans, know that it is a ridiculous idea, theatrical rather than meaningful. And this whole debate just postponed the real needed debate on MEANINGFUL immigration reform.
So stop creating an “emergency” out of real human needs. Stop grandstanding and do some of the real work that you were elected to do.
106
Dear Taxpayer: shut up. I will do what I want to do. I just raised the debt your children will pay by $1.8 Trillion, do you want me to add more?
Just kidding, I am going to take more money anyway. Those Trump towers don’t build themselves you know.
And what was the question? Did you just thank me for being the best President ever? Thank you, and thank the uneducated. I could not have done it without you.
7
If the President takes emergency measures to build his wall, it might BE BEST! Environmental approvals and lawsuits re: land appropriations would last the rest of his term. Conversely, the President is a reptilian excuse for a human being who wouldn't mind if civil servants don't ever return to work because they're all Democrats anyway. Moreover, the President has a long history of stiffing contractors.
37
You seem to think that the court system will continue to work under a state of emergency. You funny boy.
1
It is an unfortunate precedent that will be established . Any time a president doesn’t get their way shut down the government . A president should be the father of the country not an uncaring step father
35
Are you serious Charlie Savage? This step towards totalitarianism should not be encouraged by anyone. It’s outrageous. Our president needs to make an effort to govern. Sit down and hash out a deal. The reality is that both sides are not far apart. There are many aspects of border security that both sides already agree need to be funded. The length of barrier that should be built is the current stumbling block. Sure there is future debate over policy that either welcomes or deters immigration but reopening the government would not be that hard if Trump were just willing to take the time to do the work required for a compromise solution. Instead he wants what he wants and is looking for the quickest way to get there. We need to hold him accountable to the principles of democracy and not offer a justification for this abdication of his responsibilities.
55
What part of “Trump wants to declare a state of emergency and take over the government” don’t you get?
4
It is getting to the point that the southern border is not a National Emergency- Trump, himself , presents a National Emergency.He disregards the Constitution and lies constantly to the American people.He attacks our cherished institutions of law and order and dismisses our allies and cozies up to dictators. in addition, Mr.Mueller is investigating the links Russia had to the 2016 election.America does not have a competent leader- that is a National Emergency!
90
Now if only a electoral college worth of voters thought your way. But they don’t. What about that?
2
The only deals Donald Trump can make are the one where he gets the other one to capitulate. That approach may be considered a type of deal but by my understanding is deals should be fair to all.
Anyhow the Russians have completed a security fence in the Crimea which apparently meets their needs and somehow we all are stuck on a the idea of a wall. This is Hi-tech and would probably do the job we need and have money left to hire more border patrol personnel for the sums Trump thinks he needs.
How come the New York Times has not reported on this fence by Russia? Remember they out an out stole the Crimea and now have sealed it off from Ukraine. At least the BBC reported on it otherwise I would not have know about it. Here is where Putin should talk to Trump and help him out. Apparently there was plenty to grift off the construction cost and get it done.
9
I hear daily how DT might invoke emergency powers. It's getting obvious that some in the media and others are daring him to do so. Why? To jazz up this fiasco? Get a few more subscribers or viewers? Are we getting so entangled in DT's insanity and junior high lunchroom drama that we're stooping to his level? Do you understand that he's trying to become dictator? And this is his Reichstad Fire? Not only should voters wake up to how serious a move that would be, but so should you. I heard one commentator on CNN yesterday talk about how DT is trying to be dictator and the host was shocked. REALLY? Why is the media ignoring the obvious?
139
The media will make more money with Trump as a dictator than with Trump as a temporary president. What? Did you think media corporations were run for the good of the people? They are only in business for profit. The voters wanted to be ruled by money instead of a constitution and now they will be. Who said democracies didn’t get what they wanted?
3
Day by day, in every way, Donald Trump proves his unfitness for office.
117
At any cost, he needs to go ahead and do it already.
The wall is 1/10 of 1% of our budget! The Dems wanted and voted for a wall 5-6 years ago , now that it's trumps idea they hate it.
He must circumvent them and it appears that's his plan.
1
@there
Dems did not vote for a ludicrous border wall, but as needed protection. It is expensive to build and maintain, and ineffective. And using the military to do this is simply an abuse of power.
56
“Plan?”
There’s no plan here. There’s just gimme, yelling, and demanding obeisance.
65
Your argument sounds a bit like The Affordable Care Act. It was a Republican idea but the Democrats implemented it and then the Republicans hated it.
20
Why does The Times and other news media constantly report that this is a stand off between Trump and the Democrats without mentioning that this started as a standoff between Trump and the Republican-controlled House of Representatives?
Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats inherited this mess.
559
@Chris Agreed, this is on McConnell. Why aren't reporters hounding McConnell to pass a veto proof bill! Also, the GOP had 2 years to give him his wall.
38
@Chris
Exactly. And why doesn't the NYT point out that the absolute lunacy of expecting Dems to pay for something they ran against in the landslide midterms of 2018? Did anyone expect the GOP to fund the ACA in 2010?
Also, NYT, the Dems aren't taking an "absolutist" position: they've agreed to fund border security. Stop both-siding this debacle.
8
Democrats won 40 seats in the House to put a check on this. I hope they don't forget that. I hear some of the new people are getting nervous, considering caving. Don't cave, that would be the biggest mistake of your life. If Trump gets this wall, it will never stop.
268
Politically realistic? No. A mutual suicide pact for democracy. Dems must not give in to this authoritarian tactic.
124
Enough. Trump lost the House. They are a coequal branch of government. Accordingly, he must make a deal. The problem is he can’t govern; he’d rather be a mini dictator. That’s fine. Just find another country to run. Otherwise, do your job.
123
If he declares a state of emergency he does not have to make a deal. And we do not have a democracy. I want to thank those empty red states again for their brilliant choice in the last election.
4
Wrong, the Congress is a the co-equal branch not just the house. You to get the Senate on side to over ride a veto.
To “save face” means to preserve one’s dignity. When one has no dignity, it is impossible to save.
160
For the last 2 years there was widespread speculation that this man would create an “emergency” or activate a military (possible nuclear) conflict to provide political cover for himself and his family.
Speculation is over. We have our answer...
328
We are now in a slippery slope toward totalitarianism. This course was not written in the Constitution that trump and McConnell tout. Before the child tantrum everyone thought he was just entertainment. Well, now beware...look back to history. Our freedoms have been diminished , the laws are bending against us. Our livelihood is taken away. We will be serfs, indentured servants because now our debts are increasing due to this shutdown. No one thought that could happen in our country. We have to be frightened now. The republican congressmen and women are putting their interests first. Watching their backs unwilling to subscribe to the oaths of office they vowed to uphold. The conservative minority are not thinking that the next step could happen to them. How are their pocketbooks holding up. If he returns the government back to work poorer the next step would institute litigation against our civil rights that will be so costly and weaken even their rights. It's happened before in other countries. Don't let it happen here.
37
@David Singer
This is just the beginning. He has replaced most his opposition in the Cabinet. (Mattis, etc.). Now the dictatorship begins.
What's next? Military patrols on our streets, ID checks on demand? When well he start filling up Guantanamo?
This is a sad day for the country if this useless man gets his way.
14
Given all the forms of dictatorial overreach that the Republicans have made available to Trump, this is one of the smallest that he could have chosen. But he has not contained Pelosi yet so there are still more dictatorial moves to come.
7
How about agreeing to build the wall if he is reelected in 2020? Gets the government back to work, and if he can't be removed in 2020 with a more informed electorate then we deserve the wall.
27
The Art of the Steal.
Should this actually work, the blame for the fall of American democracy will rest squarely on McConnell and the rest of the GOP.
213
Its already been done. Mitch McConnell is worse than Trump because he really understands how his brute force senatorial overreach has enabled him to stop the will of the people using made-up senatorial "new rules" and unchallenged precedents --from Merrick Garland to withholding floor votes on legislation voters expected their senators to pass.
173
Good point. McConnell has become the real dictator while we focus our attention on Trump. Here in NC we are essentially purple when it comes to statewide elections. I call our two senators daily about this issue but neither one of them can muster the fortitude to publicly call out McConnell and get the house budget to the senate floor for a vote.
36
@Cliff Senate rule 37.4 prohibits a member from acting with respect to legislation when his or his family's interest create a conflict of interest. McConnell's wife is the Secretary of Transportation and serves as the pleasure of President Trump. Sen. McConnell's acts of refusing to bring before the Senate legislation that would fund the government violates Senate Rule 37.4. His personal allegiance to President Trump, through the employment of his wife, creates a serious conflict of interest, and a national emergency.
24