House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer said Tuesday he does not believe President Trump has the authority to invoke emergency powers to secure funding for a U.S.-Mexico border wall — something Mr. Trump says he’s considering amid the ongoing partial shutdown of the federal government.
“My reaction is that the president appears to believe that he can do individually that which previous presidents and the Constitution require be done by the policymakers — the Congress of the United States,” Mr. Hoyer, Maryland Democrat, told reporters. “I don’t think the president has that authority.”
Mr. Hoyer likened such a move to governments declaring martial law to justify an expansion of their authority, saying it “certainly could” constitute an abuse of power on the part of Mr. Trump.
“We don’t think that’s the American way,” he said. “We don’t think that’s the constitutional way.”
The president has said he’s considering declaring border security a national emergency and triggering powers that would allow him to assign the U.S. military to build the border wall. A standoff over funding for the wall has precipitated a government shutdown that’s now stretched into its third week.
Mr. Hoyer said there’s an ongoing challenge to keep the border secure, but that there’s no “crisis” to speak of there.
“There is no invasion. There is no clear and present danger, as the president would try to convey to the American people, to scare them and to justify actions otherwise not justified,” he said.
Mr. Hoyer said a lawsuit would be one possible remedy, but that discussions haven’t gotten that far yet.
“I know what the president’s said, but he hasn’t done anything yet,” he said. “We haven’t discussed a lawsuit at this point in time. Is that possible? It is.”
Mr. Hoyer said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell should take up House-passed bills that would fund eight of nine shuttered agencies for the full year and extend funding for the Department of Homeland Security funding through Feb. 8.
House Democrats are also planning to pass individual appropriations bills this week, starting with one that funds the IRS on Wednesday.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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