After failing to get the money he wanted to build his Mexico border wall, President Trump has decided to circumvent the legislative process and use a declaration of emergency to get the wall built. Apparently, he’s going to raid the Pentagon for the money to pay for it. Well, even a broken watch is right twice a day.
But, this is where we continue to go with this man — into uncharted territory. He is the nightmare scenario for which Constitutional checks and balances were created, only no one is checking Trump. With every outrage or crime he commits, a precedent is being set for future presidents. Trump’s declaration could be reversed by legislation, which would pass with a veto-proof majority in the House. But, over in the Senate, Mitch McConnell rules his caucus with an iron fist. The Republicans in the Senate may join in passing legislation to stop Trump’s declaration, but not to override a veto. After two years, the GOP remains unwilling to hold a rogue president to account, and future presidents will take note. Trump is demonstrating that as long as there is a cooperative Senate, a president can get away with just about anything.
Of all the people to indulge, why Trump? Of all the people who have been president, there has never been a more impulsive, ignorant, unstable individual. This is the time in our history when the checks are needed, yet, so far, the only force that has been shown to halt Trump’s whims is reality. That’s why this stupid border wall will never be built. Just the eminent domain alone will be tied up in court for long after Trump leaves office, and it’s probably a sure bet that the next Democrat to sit in the Oval Office will cancel the wall on the first day.
Trump’s emergency declaration is a blatant power grab that half of Congress will just let happen. It is yet another instance when the President of the United States is violating his oath to uphold the Constitution, and another instance where democracy is undermined. The republic cannot survive an endless string of assaults on the institution of government from those in power. No country could.