‘Robbing the Defense Department … to boost his own ego and for a wall he promised Mexico would pay to build is an insult to the sacrifices made by our service members…’
(Claire Russel, Liberty Headlines) Senate Democrats will try to force another vote on President Trump’s national emergency declaration in order to prevent him from reallocating $7.2 billion from military funds to the construction of a southern border wall.
It follows previous failed efforts, including a Senate resolution that Trump vetoed and activist lawsuits recently overruled by federal courts.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., joined by several other Democratic leaders, said in a statement that he “strongly opposes” Trump’s funds transfer, calling it a “continued cannibalization” of military accounts.
“We will continue to oppose the transfer of counterdrug funding for the wall, and will force yet another vote to terminate the President’s sham national emergency declaration and return these much-needed military construction funds back to our military,” Schumer said in a statement.
We will force yet another vote to terminate President Trump’s sham national emergency declaration and return these much-needed military construction funds back to our military. https://t.co/rjgg4gcV6g
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) January 15, 2020
After the Supreme Court ruled last year that Trump’s use of counterdrug funds was legal, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last week that Trump has the authority to transfer other discretionary military funds.
But Schumer has insisted that Trump’s actions are a “slap in the face” to the military.
“Bipartisan majorities in Congress have repeatedly rejected diverting money from critical military construction projects to build a single additional mile of border wall,” he said. “Robbing the Defense Department of these much-needed funds in order to boost his own ego and for a wall he promised Mexico would pay to build is an insult to the sacrifices made by our service members.”
If Schumer does force a vote on the emergency declaration, it will be the Democratic Party’s third attempt to block the declaration. Schumer needs a simple majority to rule against the declaration, but he would then need 67 votes to override Trump’s veto.