Eight hundred thousand federal workers did not receive a paycheck Friday yet the Democrats refuse to negotiate with the president on the border wall controversy. They won’t even at the expense of the safety and security of the American people.
The Democrats claim there is no crisis with our porous borders. They say that now, but under Bill Clinton and Barack Obama they said the opposite. It is a clear indicator that this is all about their hatred of Donald Trump at our expense.
There were reports Friday that an even larger caravan is staging in Honduras about to cause an even greater burden on our border patrol and the system. Still the Democrats say there is no problem.
Democrats Refuse to Negotiate
Trump says he is ready to negotiate. He has gone from a concrete wall to a steel slat barrier. It doesn’t matter to him. Just something you cannot climb over, crawl under, rappel, or shoot yourself out of a cannon over.
He’s even made concessions from $25 billion to $5 billion. Still no response.
Trump promises more personnel, detention beds, using technology and electronics to buttress the security and money to address the humanitarian needs. Still no response.
There is a ray of hope. Some Democrats are escaping the rigid hand of Nancy Pelosi. They include Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, Sen. Angus King of Maine, Sen. Jeff Merkeley of Oregon, Rep. Cheri Bustos of Illinois, Rep. John Sarbanes of Maryland.
National Emergency
President Trump has the authority to declare a national emergency. The controlling case is Youngstown Sheet & Tube v. Sawyer 343 U.S. 579. The only issue is monies already authorized and appropriated by Congress can be spent.
That would mean the source to use is the military construction bill. Would that money come from a line item of $13.1 billion dollars, covering housing in Afghanistan and Iraq, or a $13.9 billion line for disaster relief? Most likely the $13.1 billion should be the line used since no houses are planned to be built in Afghanistan.
You can expect Pelosi and her iron hand will search out the 9th Circuit Court in San Francisco to have the liberal response she expects. That is if the president declares an emergency using the military construction funds.
It would be appealed if the 9th Circuit overrules Trump. It can be almost a certainty the Supreme Court would rule in his favor under the Youngstown decision.
