Earlier today, President Donald Trump signed the first veto of his Presidency.
It’s a veto of the resolution passed by the House and Senate stripping President Trump of the Emergency Declaration for the Southern Border Crisis.
The president said he has a duty to veto the resolution.
“Today I am vetoing this resolution. Congress has the freedom to pass this resolution, and I have the duty to veto it.”
It appears that Attorney General William Barr is backing President Trump on his emergency declaration to build the wall on our southern border. In a bold statement today, while standing next to President Trump in the oval office, surrounded by Angel Moms and Border Patrol agents, AG Barr explained his support for President Trump’s decision.
Mr. President, your declaration of a border emergency on the southern border was clearly authorized under the law, and consistent with past precedent. As you said, the National Emergencies Act directly authorizes the president—gives broad discretionary authority to the President, to identify and respond to emergent circumstances that require a decisive response. And the humanitarian and security crisis that we have on the border right now, is exactly the kind of emergency that Presidents are permitted to address under the National Emergencies Act.
As you eluded to yourself, over the past 40 years, there have been 59 emergencies declared. And many of these have dealt with political conditions like in Burundi, Sierra Leone, Belarus..
The crisis we’re dealing with today is right on our doorstep and presents a real clear and present danger to the American people. So what you’ve done is solidly grounded in the law and from the standpoint of protecting the American people, it’s imperative.
President Trump turned to his new Attorney General Bill Barr and thanked him, telling him, “Thank you, very much Bill. Because you’ll be defending it, and you’ll be defending it well. I have no doubt about that.”
Watch:
What do you think? Did President Trump do the right thing when he declared an emergency on our southern border? We’d love to hear what you think in the comment section below.
