As of my posting this, none of of the media have evaluated the accuracy of Trumps “threat” to unilaterally build the wall, avoiding the need for congressional approval. (although he claimed he is not threatening its use) . Here’s the Times paraphrase of the above video exchange.
“At the same time, in response to a question from a reporter, the president held out the possibility that he could declare a national emergency and assume the unilateral power to build a wall without congressional approval
My Comment to the article:
The N.Y. Times could do a bit more research on whether he actually could do this. This individual has been known to say thing that aren’t exactly true.
Wikipedia: National Emergency ActsThe Act authorized the President to activate emergency provisions of law via an emergency declaration on the conditions that the President specifies the provisions so activated and notifies Congress. An activation would expire if the President expressly terminated the emergency, or did not renew the emergency annually, or if each house of Congress passed a resolution terminating the emergency. After presidents objected to this "Congressional termination" provision on separation of powers grounds, it was replaced in 1985 with termination by an enacted joint resolution. ----—
It does take a super majority of both houses to cancel the National Emergency, so to stop this would require the Republican Senate to dump him.If they would do that, they would also convict him on impeachment charges, and it would be bye bye Trump.
That's why he's not going this route, not out of respect for our democracy.
--------------------------
This article goes into the details
Toward Comprehensive Reform of America’s Emergency Law Regime
PP 15: of the PDF
House of Congress shall meet to consider a vote on a concurrent
resolution to determine whether that emergency shall be terminated.”
The enacted version also specifies that declared emergencies will terminate automatically after one year unless renewed by the President,On and that the President may terminate a national emergency at any time.
100
Congress has enacted two significant amendments to the NEA
since its passage. First, although it retains the requirement that
Congress meet every six months to consider terminating national
emergency powers, the statute now provides that a joint resolution,
rather than a concurrent resolution, is the appropriate mechanism
for terminating national emergencies.
101
Like a typical bill, a joint resolution requires the President’s signature to become law, and
Congress can override a President’s veto of a joint resolution with a
two-thirds majority in both houses. Second, the emergency authority granted under the Trading with the Enemy Act (TWEA) is not exempt from the modern statute,
102
since the TWEA no longer provides a basis for declaring a national emergency in peacetime.
103
Notwithstanding these differences, the plain text of the contemporary statute clearly reflects Congress’s intent to curb the unchecked propagation of national emergencies and the unrestrained exercise of emergency powers.
-------------—
----------------
A President can use the National Emergency clause to have close to dictatorial powers, but for some reason a simple majority of both houses is not sufficient to end it. The President can veto the required joint resolution, but then it takes 2/3 of both houses to overturn that veto.
