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U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat from California, speaks to members of the media while departing a House Democratic Caucus meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Tuesday, March 26, 2019.
Last month, Trump declared a national emergency to divert money already approved by Congress to the construction of barriers on the U.S.-Mexico border. Democrats and some Republicans worried about Trump circumventing the legislature’s appropriations power after lawmakers passed only about $1.4 billion of the $5.7 billion the president sought for structures.
Both the House and Senate previously passed the legislation to block the emergency declaration with bipartisan support.
Trump hopes to use the declaration to secure $3.6 billion of the $8 billion total he wants to put toward barriers on the border. It would come from the Defense Department’s military construction budget. The president has argued he has the full authority to divert the funds.
Though Congress cannot terminate the emergency declaration for now, Trump’s action still will face its share of scrutiny. Numerous states and outside groups have filed lawsuits challenging the declaration.
Lawsuits have in part cited Trump’s own words last month, when he said “I didn’t need to do this” to get border wall funding, “but I’d rather do it much faster.”
After acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said Monday that the Pentagon would move $1 billion away from military construction projects to build the border wall, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wa., denied the move. He said his committee had not approved it.
It still may go through, as the Pentagon will argue it has the authority to use the funds.
Trump also requested $8.6 billion for border wall construction in his fiscal 2020 budget, which could spark yet another standoff with Democrats over his signature campaign promise.
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