Pelosi says House won’t consider Senate GOP alternative to nullifying Trump’s emergency declaration

3/13/19
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Wednesday that her chamber would not consider legislation being crafted in the Senate to rein in presidential emergency powers, characterizing it as an attempt to give President Trump “a pass” on violating the Constitution. Pelosi’s warning comes ahead of a planned Senate vote on Thursday on a resolution passed by the House that would nullify Trump’s declaration of a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border. In an attempt to stave off Senate passage — an embarrassing prospect for Trump — Republican senators have been pushing an alternative measure that would instead address concerns that Trump’s powers under the National Emergencies Act are too broad. In a statement, Pelosi made clear that the Democrat-led House has no interest in that approach. “Republican Senators are proposing new legislation to allow the President to violate the Constitution just this once in order to give themselves cover,” she said. “The House will not take up this legislation to give President Trump a pass.”

Pelosi and other House Democrats have argued that Trump’s emergency declaration, which he is using as a way to spend more on barriers at the border than Congress has authorized, violates the Constitution. Many Senate Republicans have started to align behind an alternative measure drafted by Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) that would amend the National Emergencies Act to say an emergency declaration would automatically expire after 30 days unless both chambers of Congress affirmatively vote to keep it. That would be enough to kill the resolution in the Senate, provided no other GOP senators oppose Trump’s declaration or alter their position. In remarks on the Senate floor on Wednesday, Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) called the measure crafted by Lee a “fig leaf.” “Our Republican friends are saying with this fig leaf, ‘Grant me the courage to stand up President Trump, but not yet,’” Schumer said. “And next time and next time and next time, they’ll say the same thing. So let’s do the right thing. Let’s tell the president he cannot use his overreaching power to declare an emergency when he couldn’t get Congress to do what he wanted.”

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Rogue Valley said:

Pelosi says House won’t consider Senate GOP alternative to nullifying Trump’s emergency declaration

Good. Nancy isn't allowing Trump and McConnell to pull any shenanigans regarding Trumps "national emergency" declaration. Besides, if the Republicans allow this, then the next Democrat president should also have this tool at his/her disposal. If the GOP truly does not want to permit Trump to abridge their Constitutional power-of-the-purse, then find a spine and vote to override his "disapproval bill" veto.

Related: Pelosi rejects Republican bill to change national emergencies law

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Praxas said:

I agree with what Nancy is saying but if the senate passes it, then the house needs to vote on it in my opinion. I’m sick and tired of either houses holding bills from the other side that have passed but refuse to vote on it when it comes their turn.

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Rogue Valley said:

McConnell started this crap by not allowing a Senate vote on the House govt. funding bills in February.

The Turtle[sup]®[/sup] will keep on doing that until he decides the House consequences are not worth his undemocratic behavior.

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