House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer pushed back hard against Donald Trump’s national emergency declaration to grab money for his border wall. “The President’s unlawful declaration over a crisis that does not exist does great violence to our Constitution and makes America less safe, stealing from urgently needed defense funds for the security of our military and our nation,” Pelosi and Schumer said in a statement released while Trump’s rambling, ranting remarks were still going on. “This is plainly a power grab by a disappointed President, who has gone outside the bounds of the law to try to get what he failed to achieve in the constitutional legislative process.”
Pelosi and Schumer sounded the alarm about the effect of Trump’s actions on the Constitution: “This issue transcends partisan politics and goes to the core of the Founders’ conception for America, which commands Congress to limit an overreaching executive. The President’s emergency declaration, if unchecked, would fundamentally alter the balance of powers, inconsistent with our Founders’ vision.” Calling on congressional Republicans “to join us to defend the Constitution,” they conclude that “The Congress cannot let the President shred the Constitution.”
Pelosi and Schumer weren’t the only Democrats sharply criticizing Trump’s move.
“President Trump’s ‘national emergency’ is so low priority he didn’t even start his speech with it,” tweeted Rep. Jim Himes. Sen. Jeff Merkley tweeted that “This ‘national emergency’ is a fraud and should be thrown out in court immediately. @realDonaldTrump, take a look at the Constitution someday. You might learn something.”