President Donald Trump has received heated critiques from democrats and republicans following his decision to use emergency powers to pay for a border wall with Mexico. This is what the White House said on Thursday,
“The president is once again delivering on his promise to build the wall, protect the border, and secure our great country,” White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement on Thursday.
She said Mr. Trump would “take other executive action – including a national emergency – to ensure we stop the national security and humanitarian crisis at the border”.
The random used move would enable Mr. Trump to bypass Congress, which has refused to approve the money needed. The critiques are justified as state emergency means this;
Senior Democrats accused the president of “gross abuse of power” and a “lawless act”. Several Republicans also voiced concern at the plan.
Building a border wall was a key campaign promise of Mr. Trump’s campaign.
Declaring a national emergency would give Mr. Trump access to billions of dollars for his project. US border in seven charts
The president agreed on Thursday to sign a spending bill that does not include finance for the wall. Disputes over the wall led to a 35-day government shutdown early this year – the longest in US history.
The spending bill must be signed on Friday to avert another shutdown. Citing unnamed White House officials, US media outlets reported that the president would sign the emergencies act at the same time.
The Sarah sanders tweet about emergency declaration was not spared too.
Statement on Government Funding Bill: pic.twitter.com/DrNv9D4rEi
— Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) 14 February 2019