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US President Donald Trump on Friday declared a national emergency situation on the border between the United States and Mexico, with the aim of plunging him into a battle with the Democrats for what they call an attempt unconstitutional financing of a wall without congressional approval.
Trump had asked Congress to include money for the wall, one of his biggest campaign promises 2016, in a finance bill that he later signed. Friday. He was overwhelmingly endorsed by Congress Thursday night without the wall money he wanted, a legislative defeat for him.
A national emergency, if it was not blocked by the courts or Congress, would allow Trump to tap into funds that politicians had approved for other purposes to build a border wall.
The spending measure, devoid of money for his wall, is a defeat for Trump in Congress, where his request for a $ 5.7 billion financing of obstacles yielded no results, except for one stop 35-day record-breaking government that has hurt the US economy. his survey numbers.
The measure includes $ 1.37 billion in funding for physical barriers, but not for concrete walls.
& # 39; An illusion & # 39;
Reorienting his quest for funds towards a legally uncertain strategy based on the declaration of a national emergency should plunge Trump into a long battle with the Democrats and divide his Republican compatriots.
The two largest congressional Democrats said they would use "every possible remedy" to oppose Trump's statement.
Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer announced on Friday that they would act "before Congress, in the courts and in front of the public".
They called the Trump declaration illegal, adding that it would "shatter the Constitution" by usurping Congress's power to control spending.
Even before the White House announced that Trump would declare an emergency, the Republican senators, while declaring themselves sensitive to the crisis south of the southern border, were skeptical about the statement that would displace funds from pledges taken by Congress.
"No crisis justifies violating the Constitution," Republican Senator Marco Rubio said on Twitter on Thursday.
Republican Senator John Cornyn told reporters at Capitol Hill that he was concerned about an emergency statement. He said that "it would not be a practical solution, because there would be a trial immediately and the money would probably be accumulated".
Some Republicans were more supportive of Trump's tactics. "I'm not a bad guy, I think the president is probably very strong," said Republican Senator Richard Shelby.
Reallocation of funds
Fifteen Democrats in the Republican-controlled Senate introduced a bill to prevent the transfer of funds from accounts that Trump would likely target to pay for his wall.
Trump said he would spend about $ 8 billion on border protection, combining the funds approved by Congress and the funds that he plans to reallocate through executive actions, including l & rsquo; National emergency. The money would come from funds for drug control efforts and military construction, but the collaborators would not be able to tell immediately what military projects would be affected.
The funds would only cover a portion of the estimated wall cost of Trump, estimated at $ 23 billion, along the Mexico-3,000-kilometer border.
The Democratic Senators bill would prevent Trump from using the funds earmarked for the acquisition of land for the construction of the wall, unless specifically authorized by Congress.
Trump says the wall is needed to prevent illegal immigrants and illicit drugs from crossing the southern border.
But statistics show that Irregular immigration has fallen to its lowest level in 20 years and many drug shipments are probably smuggled at official entry points. Critics have therefore argued that a wall is not necessary.
Reacting to the announcement made Friday by Trump, Moody's Investment Services said that if funding was diverted from the DoD or the US Army Corps of Engineers, " this could have various credit implications for different sectors. "
"Dedicated funds from the DoD or the US Army Corps of Engineers would have a negative impact on construction companies that have already contracted with these agencies," said Rebecca Karnovitz, Moody's Deputy Vice President & # 39. ; s.
She also said that "any reallocation of disaster relief funds would be negative for municipalities that are still recovering from California wildfires and hurricanes in Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico".
SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies
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