JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski said she is likely to support a resolution of disapproval over President Donald Trump’s declaration of a national emergency to secure more money for a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.
In an audio recording provided by an aide late Friday, Murkowski, an Alaska Republican, noted concerns she has raised about the precedent that could be set if the declaration stands.
House Democrats introduced a resolution Friday to block the national emergency declaration. If it passes the Democratic-controlled House, it would go to the Republican-held Senate. Trump on Friday promised a veto.
“I want to make sure that the resolution of disapproval is exactly what I think it is, because if it is as I understand it to be, I will likely be supporting the resolution to disapprove of the action,” Murkowski said.
When pressed on her position during an appearance on Anchorage TV station KTUU Friday evening, she said: “If it’s what I have seen right now, I will support the resolution to disapprove.”
Earlier in the week, Murkowski told reporters she supports efforts to bolster border security but worries about an erosion of government checks and balances.
“I’ll be very direct. I don’t like this. I don’t like this,” she said. “I think it takes us down a road and with a precedent that if it’s allowed, that we may come to regret.”
Congress recently approved a border security compromise that included about $1.4 billion for border barriers, which is less than Trump wanted. But Murkowski said it is “certainly as much as the administration can spend in this fiscal year” to advance Trump’s priorities.
Alaska’s other U.S. senator, Republican Dan Sullivan, on Thursday called the border situation a crisis but said he didn’t think a national emergency declaration was needed because of the money just approved and other resources identified by the White House.
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