A draft of President Trump’s border security speech has been floating around, and those who have seen it say it says nothing about declaring a “national emergency” at the border as a way of getting around Congress to get a wall built. Instead it’s said the president will call for a bipartisan solution.
As Twitchy reported earlier Tuesday, if President Trump did declare a national emergency at the border, it would be the 32nd active national emergency, the oldest of which was called by President Jimmy Carter.
It’s no secret that the National Emergencies Act needs to be reformed or scrapped, but suddenly Sen. Richard Blumenthal thinks that calling a national emergency is an “abuse of power.”
Blumenthal tells me it “may well be” time to reform the National Emergencies Act of 1976, under which Trump could declare a national emergency at the border.
Blumenthal says that if president does so, it would constitute an “abuse of power”
— Igor Bobic (@igorbobic) January 8, 2019
We don’t remember Blumenthal declaring an abuse of power the 13 times President Obama declared a national emergency, or the 17 times Bill Clinton did. But now, with Trump in the Oval Office, it’s an abuse of power that needs to be stopped.
If anyone was sincerely concerned with presidential abuse of power, they should have spoken up when President Pen and Phone was in office.
Our man in Vietnam. https://t.co/93zcftYg5k
— Joel B. Pollak (@joelpollak) January 8, 2019
It's funny. I'm sure he never took issue with it when Obama declared national emergencies several times.
— Lowpro (@steelersCAtoPA) January 8, 2019
Again, unless his speech changes, the whole national emergency thing is moot.
And the House should impeach him if he does it, because he would not only be abusing his power, but seizing power from the Congress specifically given it by the Constitution. MUST impeach if this happens.
— Questions For @PressSec (@questions4sarah) January 8, 2019
Yes, and we’d better retroactively impeach Obama, Bush, Clinton, Bush, Reagan, and Carter just to be safe.
Related:
If Trump declares a national emergency over the border, it will be America's [CHECKS NOTES] 32nd active national emergency https://t.co/cp82LWIWlZ
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) January 8, 2019
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