{"slug":"trump-national-emergency-declaration-wall-funding","title":"National Emergency Declaration: Diverting Congress-Rejected Wall Funding","date":"2019-02-15","lastUpdated":"2019-09-27","description":"After Congress refused to appropriate $5.7 billion for a border wall, and after a 35-day government shutdown over the issue (the longest in U.S. history), Trump declared a national emergency on February 15, 2019, to divert Pentagon funding for wall construction. Congress passed a resolution of disapproval through both chambers — the first time since the National Emergencies Act was enacted in 1976 that Congress voted to terminate a presidential emergency declaration. Trump vetoed it. The declaration diverted approximately $3.6 billion in military construction funds, including funds for overseas military bases.","summary":"Trump had explicitly asked Congress for $5.7 billion for the border wall; Congress appropriated $1.375 billion for fencing, far less than requested. Trump signed the appropriations bill and then simultaneously declared a national emergency to bypass the congressional decision and access Pentagon funds Congress had not authorized for this purpose. He acknowledged the emergency framing was pretextual, saying at the announcement: 'I could do the wall over a longer period of time. I didn't need to do this. But I'd rather do it much faster.' Congress voted to terminate the emergency; Trump vetoed. Courts blocked parts of the diversion; the Supreme Court allowed it to proceed pending litigation.","category":"rule-of-law","severity":"major","ongoing":false,"sources":[{"url":"https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/15/us/politics/national-emergency-trump.html","title":"Trump Declares National Emergency to Build Border Wall","publisher":"The New York Times"},{"url":"https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-to-declare-national-emergency-on-southern-border/2019/02/14/aa9f2b18-3091-11e9-813a-0ab2f17e305b_story.html","title":"Trump declares national emergency to build border wall","publisher":"The Washington Post"},{"url":"https://apnews.com/article/trump-national-emergency-border-wall-congress","title":"Trump declares emergency for border wall after Congress refuses funds","publisher":"The Associated Press"},{"url":"https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-19-569r","title":"Secure Border Initiative — DOD Involvement in Southern Border Security","publisher":"U.S. Government Accountability Office"}],"draft":false,"status":"published","tags":["national-emergency","border-wall","rule-of-law","first-term","shutdown","separation-of-powers"],"relatedEntries":[],"timeline":[{"date":"2018-12-22","title":"Longest government shutdown begins","summary":"Federal government shuts down after Congress and Trump fail to agree on wall funding. 800,000 federal workers go without pay for 35 days — the longest government shutdown in U.S. history."},{"date":"2019-01-25","title":"Shutdown ends — Trump signs without wall funding","summary":"Trump signs a continuing resolution to reopen the government without the $5.7 billion he demanded, framing it as a temporary measure while wall funding is negotiated."},{"date":"2019-02-15","title":"Trump signs appropriations bill and declares emergency simultaneously","summary":"Trump signs the appropriations bill containing $1.375 billion for fencing — less than a quarter of what he demanded — and simultaneously declares a national emergency to access an additional $3.6 billion from Pentagon funds. He says he 'didn't need to do this.'"},{"date":"2019-03-14","title":"Senate votes to terminate emergency — Trump vetoes","summary":"The Senate votes 59-41 to terminate the national emergency declaration — 12 Republican senators voting against Trump. The House had already passed a similar resolution. Trump vetoes; the veto is not overridden."},{"date":"2019-09-27","title":"Supreme Court allows construction to proceed","summary":"The Supreme Court rules 5-4 to allow border wall construction funded by the diverted Pentagon money to proceed while lower court litigation continues."}],"location":{"name":"Washington, D.C.","lat":38.9072,"lng":-77.0369},"custom":{"era":"first-term","posture":"reported","warCrimeClassification":"enabling","internationalLaw":[],"iccRelevance":false,"victims":"Constitutional separation of powers; military families and personnel affected by diverted construction funding; congressional appropriations authority","structuredPerpetrators":[{"name":"Donald Trump","role":"President; declared national emergency to circumvent congressional appropriations decision; self-acknowledged the emergency was pretextual in his announcement statement","institution":"White House"}],"updateLog":[{"date":"2019-09-27","summary":"Updated with Supreme Court ruling allowing construction."}]}}