Suburban lawmakers among those seeking to overturn Trump emergency
Several suburban lawmakers are signing on to a U.S. House resolution seeking to overturn President Donald Trump's emergency declaration Friday. Citing concerns about border security, Trump empowered his administration to use about $6.5 billion in government funds to build a wall at the Mexican border.
The move drew outrage from Democrats and criticism from some Republicans that the president was overreaching after a bipartisan bill to fund the government and prevent a shutdown fell short of Trump's goal of $5.7 billion for a wall.
"No funds can be used from the treasury without appropriations made by law," Rep. Sean Casten of Downers Grove tweeted. He and fellow Democrat Rep. Bill Foster of Naperville are among the sponsors of the resolution that would squash the emergency declaration.
"There is no national security emergency on our southern border," Foster said.
How would such a resolution work? The president is authorized to declare a national emergency, but Congress can reverse that with swift action and, assuming Trump would nix such legislation, a veto-proof supermajority.
The House and Senate each have 18 days to pass the resolution.
A vote doesn't appear imminent, as lawmakers are scheduled to be in their districts next week and weren't asked to stay in the capital Friday, a spokesman for Democratic Rep. Brad Schneider of Deerfield said.
Trump said a wall would prevent "an invasion of our country, with drugs, with human traffickers, and with all types of criminals and gangs."
Schneider said the emergency declaration was unconstitutional and if left unchecked, "it will do great damage to our long-standing system of checks and balances."