Durbin Statement On President Trump's Veto Of Congress' Emergency Declaration Rebuke
CHICAGO – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Vice Chairman of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, today released the following statement after President Donald Trump vetoed the resolution of termination regarding his national emergency declaration to build a wall at the southern border. Yesterday, the Senate voted to reject President Trump’s emergency declaration by a bipartisan vote of 59-41.
“Yesterday, Republicans and Democrats in the Senate chose the Constitution over the President’s so-called ‘national emergency’ declaration. Today, the President chose his ‘big and beautiful’ wall over the needs of the U.S. military.”
Last week, Durbin, along with Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Brian Schatz (D-HI), called on the Department of Defense to provide Congress with a list of military projects it intends to defund to pay for President Trump’s ineffective border wall. In their letter to acting Defense Secretary Shanahan, the Senators highlighted the careful vetting process projects go through to get funding approval from Congress. They also underscored the harm that diverting funding would cause to military readiness and our national security.
On Monday, Durbin, Leahy, and Schatz asked the Government Accountability Office (GAO) for a legal opinion on the authorities of the Department of Defense to transfer funds to build a border wall without the express approval of Congress.