Democrats in the House and Senate denounced President Trump’s suggestion Friday that military funding could be used for a border wall if he declared a national emergency, a move that would allow him to bypass congressional approval.
“I am adamantly opposed to President Trump using an unwise, weak, and irresponsible legal gimmick to circumvent Congress and the American people’s opposition to using taxpayer money for the construction of an unnecessary wall,” House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith, D-Wash., said in a statement Friday.
“This is as clear a statement as any that President Trump values the construction of his wall over military readiness and support for our troops and their families,” Smith said.
Smith claimed redirecting the funds would be a blow to service members, and to various defense projects that enhance readiness, training, operations, among other things.
“Moreover, by abusing this authority, President Trump would be saying that he does not actually believe all the money he requests for our country’s defense is needed for legitimate national security purposes,” Smith said. “That would raise major questions about his credibility when he requests his next defense budget from Congress.”
Ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee Jack Reed, D-R.I., said the proposition should “alarm all Americans” and that he would work with colleagues to “block any attempt to take money that has been dedicated for our troops and redirect it to construction of a wasteful, ineffective wall.”
“President Trump had an all-Republican Congress for the last two years and they didn’t enact his wall,” Reed said in a statement Friday. “Now, suddenly, he wants the Pentagon to foot the bill. Absolutely not.”
Earlier Friday, Trump told reporters that he was eyeing using his emergency powers to direct military funding toward constructing a border wall, amid a partial government shutdown over dispute for funding the project.
“We can call a national emergency,” said Trump, who has previously floated the idea before. “I haven’t done it. I may do it. I may do it. We can call a national emergency and build it very quickly. It’s another way of doing it.”
While Trump has long discussed building a border wall and has requested $5 billion in funding to build it, Democrats have not gotten on board with the idea.
