House

GOP lawmaker comes out against Trump’s emergency declaration

by Juliegrace Brufke - 02/21/19 5:27 PM ET

GOP Rep. Mike Gallagher (Wis.) said he doesn’t believe President Trump’s declaration of emergency is the right course of action, according to an interview with Milwaukee’s NBC affiliate on Thursday.

The Wisconsin Republican argued that though he agrees with Trump’s call to increase spending on border security, bypassing Congress after it failed to meet the president’s full funding request for a border wall set a bad precedent.

Trump declared a national emergency on Friday after Congress passed a spending bill that included $1.375 billion to build physical barriers along the country’s souther border — a far lower figure than the $5.7 billion requested by the administration.

Gallagher hails from Wisconsin’s 8th District, which Trump easily won in 2016. The district voted for former President Obama in 2008 but switched to Republican nominee Mitt Romney, now a senator from Utah, in 2012.

“First thing I would say is I think the president is right to emphasize the need for border security. I voted for the $5.7 billion,” he said.

“The problem is the president came to Congress asking for something, Congress said no. Our system doesn’t then allow the president to say, ‘Ok ‘I’m just going do it anyway through some sort of cheat code,'” he added.

Gallagher said he feels the legislative branch has yielded too much power to the executive branch, adding he doesn’t necessarily fault Trump for moving forward with what some have argued is a power grab.

“Congress is to blame however, because Congress has systematically surrendered all of its power and authority to the executive branch. This is the fundamental distortion of our Constitution — it’s not Donald Trump’s fault, it’s not the Democrats fault, it’s not the Republicans’ fault,” he continued.

“It’s a bipartisan failure that’s built up over the last four decades and reversing that is our fundamental and most difficult task. And I think this sets a bad precedent and it lets Congress off the hook.”

Democrats in the Senate and the House are expected to introduce resolutions to stop the declaration of emergency, though if passed, they would likely be vetoed by President Trump.

In the Senate, no Republican has said they will break ranks and vote in favor of a resolution of disapproval, but there are reasons to expect some defections.

Tags Donald Trump Mike Gallagher Mitt Romney