It would take four Republican senators from across the aisle added to all of the Democrats to oppose Donald Trump. POTUS usurped the House of Representatives’ power of the purse, when he said he would reallocate funds to build his fantasy wall between Mexico and the United States. The Democrats have introduced a resolution to stop POTUS. Now it looks as if at least four senators have found the courage to cross over and join them.
Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) spoke at the Southern Kentucky Lincoln Day Dinner. According to  The Bowling Green Daily News, he said “It’s a dangerous thing” to remove the Constitution’s “checks and balances:”
‘I can’t vote to give the president the power to spend money that hasn’t been appropriated by Congress. We may want more money for border security, but Congress didn’t authorize it. If we take away those checks and balances, it’s a dangerous thing.’
The method Trump used to get his money was to declare a national emergency to fund his wall. The Senate will vote on a resolution to stop him. Last week, the House passed the resolution 245-182. Thirteen Republicans voted with the Democrats in support of the resolution.
Senators Susan Collins (R-ME), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), and Thom Tillis (R-NC) have already announced they plan to vote for the resolution. There has been a the premiss that once Republicans begin to support it, more members of the GOP will join them. About 12 additional Republican senators have expressed dissatisfaction with Trump’s moves, so the number of senators may yet increase.
Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) will retire after his term is over. He spoke to Trump about the emergency declaration. He told POTUS that he was causing a “constitutional crisis.” However, he has not declared how he will vote on the resolution:
‘I will announce how I’m going to vote when I know what we’re going to be voting on. I learned a long time ago in the United States Senate it’s not wise to announce how you’re going to vote on a vote you may never have to take.’
Trump has already claimed that he will “100 percent” veto any resolution that crosses his desk. Then, he threatened the Republican senators, on Fox News’ Sean Hannity show, claiming that any who voted for the resolution would be doing a “very dangerous thing:”
‘I really think that Republicans that vote against border security and the wall, I think you know, I’ve been OK at predicting things, I think they put themselves at great jeopardy.’
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) aides indicated that the vote would occur on March 15.
The Congress gave Trump close to $25 billion for his wall at one time, but the commander-in-chief rejected it. Then, the number went down to approximately what Trump has been asking from Congress — $5.7 billion. He rejected that one, too, and shut down the government.
The new Democratically-led House offered the president $1.375 billion for physical barriers between Mexico and the U.S. This time Trump took it, but tried to subvert the House with his declaration of a national emergency. This is no emergency.
Featured image is a screenshot via YouTube.
