Remember when President Trump wanted more money to build his ‘wall’ on the southern border and Congress wouldn’t give it to him…again and again and again? And then he declared a national emergency with the intention of moving budget money around from other accounts to pay for building his wall? And Congress passed a bill to prevent that and he vetoed it?
The rationale was that Congress has the power of the purse and once money is allocated in a budget for a particular program and the budget is passed and signed…the money can’t be moved around.
And the Trump West Wing said no…that’s not so! Well until recently when they have asked for an additional $4.5 billion to relieve the self-inflicted humanitarian crisis at the border. Then when asked why they couldn’t use current border money…well:
Trump earlier this year declared the immigration influx a national emergency, which allowed him to circumvent Congress to redirect more than $6 billion in funding to start building his border wall. His move has been challenged in courts.
Asked why the administration did not redirect wall funding to the pressing humanitarian issues at the border, a second official told reporters that would not be allowed under budget rules.
So it goes…round and round and round. Maybe an oval office wasn’t the best thought out design?
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