Durbin Statement On Senate Vote To Reject President Trump's Emergency Declaration
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Vice Chairman of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, today released the following statement after the Senate voted, for the second time, to reject President Donald Trump’s emergency declaration in order to fulfill his campaign promise of building a wall at the southern border:
“For the second time in six months, Republicans and Democrats in the Senate chose the Constitution over the President’s so-called ‘national emergency’ declaration. The Senate must continue to reject the President’s efforts to divert funding meant for our military in order to put it toward his ineffective wall on the southern border.”
Earlier this month, the Department of Defense announced it would divert $3.6 billion from military construction projects to pay for President Trump’s border wall by cancelling 127 military construction projects around the world, as well as in 26 U.S. states and territories. President Trump had already diverted $2.5 billion from the military earlier this year for his border wall, bringing the total to $6.1 billion.
Last week, a report from The Washington Post stated that there will be “dire outcomes” for military families if Republicans refuse to terminate the President’s emergency declaration and stop the Trump Administration’s plan to steal funds for military construction projects in order to pay for the border wall.
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