Debate, lawsuits follow emergency declaration

WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump’s use of a national emergency declaration to access billions of dollars for a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border has sparked fierce debate and legal challenges. Since the Friday declaration, Democrats on Capitol Hill have united in decrying the move. Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., told CBS News on Sunday lawmakers should “make it clear that the Article One branch, the Congress, is going to jealously defend our right to be the body that decides on federal spending, and not let the president use this extreme measure as an end around our appropriations process.”

Republicans have split on the issue. While Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., have backed the president, others voiced concerns. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., warned Trump’s move might take the country down a “rabbit hole,” with future presidents seizing unchecked executive power to accomplish their agendas. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said, “No crisis justifies violating the Constitution.”

White House adviser Stephen Miller argued the president is upholding, not violating, the Constitution: “What the president was saying is that like past presidents, he could choose to ignore this crisis, choose to ignore this emergency as others have. But that’s not what he’s going to do.”

The declaration immediately triggered legal battles. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced that his state plans to file a lawsuit against the move. Several other states, including Connecticut, Hawaii, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, and Oregon are reportedly joining the lawsuit. The American Civil Liberties Union sued on Friday, and an advocacy group filed suit on behalf of three Texas landowners who are concerned their property will be confiscated to build the wall.