Today Trump claimed he will seize large swaths of land from private citizens at gunpoint and declare a “state of emergency” to build a wall without Congressional approval.
In the face of tyranny, Republicans are outraged … by a freshman Member of Congress using profanity.
— Renato Mariotti (@renato_mariotti) January 4, 2019
I assume this is just talk. If it’s not, Trump would be provoking a constitutional crisis that would lead to resignations of senior officials, not just civilian but also military if he sought to use the military illegally, and the start of impeachment proceedings. https://t.co/oSJSMzaZJC
— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) January 5, 2019
.@MichaelSteele: People just put your pants back on and calm down. The fact of the matter is, there is no national emergency… No terrorists are coming across the Mexican border… We've got to get #Trump out of our head when it comes to this issue. #AMJoy pic.twitter.com/qhkqbrjE1P
— AM Joy w/Joy Reid (@amjoyshow) January 5, 2019
Emergency powers offer a broad array of tools that would otherwise be unavailable to the executive branch. Some are highly potent and subject to abuse, while others are already being misused as convenient fixes to non-emergency problems. https://t.co/8iTLx6m1L9
— Brennan Center (@BrennanCenter) January 5, 2019
A core principle of the Tea Party and the broader “constitutional conservative” movement has always been that if he wants to the president can declare a state of emergency and undertake an illegal $20 billion construction project complete with seizures of private land.
— Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) January 5, 2019
President Trump apparently imagines that declaring a national emergency to get his border wall built would allow him to govern by barking commands rather than by throwing tantrums. https://t.co/3bQTdMwfZb
— The New Yorker (@NewYorker) January 5, 2019
No, @realDonaldTrump, you can’t declare “emergency” to build vanity wall. BTW, want to know what’s a real emergency? Poverty & inequality in America. 4 in 10 don’t have $400 to deal w/ emergency. 3 richest ppl have as much wealth as bottom 50%. Shameful. https://t.co/QA6UDRqQZj
— Rep. Pramila Jayapal (@RepJayapal) January 5, 2019
Factual basis for a national emergency:
-Violent crime DROPPED according to latest FBI data.
-Property crime also DROPPED.
-Immigrants, both documented a
& undocumented, commit LESS CRIME than native-born Americans.Courts would strike down this @realDonaldTrump power grab. https://t.co/sCNKBmCLIl
— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) January 4, 2019
President Trump, yesterday: "We can call a national emergency….I may do it….I am allowed to do that."
Well, it's reassuring that the Justice Department is under the control of a respected and Senate-confirmed attorney general who'd never acquiesce in something like this.— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) January 5, 2019
If POTUS is willing to continue the shutdown for “months, even years,” isn’t he conceding that building a wall really isn’t an emergency? 🤔
— Asha Rangappa (@AshaRangappa_) January 5, 2019
When you push reckless policies that squander our resources, defy our values, leave 800,000 federal workers unpaid and millions of Americans without needed services, you don’t need to declare a national emergency.
You are the national emergency.
— Adam Schiff (@AdamSchiff) January 4, 2019
Having covered the Tea Party very closely, I just tried to imagine the reaction if Obama threatened to use emergency powers like this, and my head exploded. https://t.co/roHofVh1Uz
— Dave Weigel (@daveweigel) January 5, 2019
Sad! 