The Trump Presidency - how I stopped worrying and learned to love the Hair

How come nobody is talking about 10 U.S.C. 284?

If this had been a viable route it would most likely have been done by now. :dunno:

Regardless, it will have to be funded, which means, it would eventually have to go from someone's budget. Looking at that code, there seems to be strict limitations on the size of what sort of construction projects that can be done under that code. This is a code governing what the military can aid in counter-drugs-operations. It is not normal for the military to perform such tasks, other than in emergency situations, even though it is not explicitly stated that it's for emergencies only.

Besides, looking in the notes under Chapter 15, there is a limit to the funding of $ 75 million. This is far away from the $ 5,7 billion that Trump originally asked for.
 
I disagree. The leaders of the left consist of people who call for open borders, 90% tax rates (Omar), 3rd trimester abortions (Schumer), gun confiscation (Clinton), reparations (Harris), communism (AOC), etc. JFK would be considered an alt-righter by modern progressive standards.

How can AOC be considered a leader of the Democratic party when she just took office?


Correct - there are designs with anti-climbing features (primarily arches at the top) that make it much more difficult to scale the barrier.


And there is still nothing stopping a ladder being placed against that, or a tunnel being dug under the wall now is there?


I thought you hated wasteful government spending. The experts have said this approach won't help as much as other things, so that makes this a waste. $5billion is still $5 billion. It is not like it was underneath the couch cushions just waiting to be spent on a wall.
 
How can AOC be considered a leader of the Democratic party when she just took office?

With a landslide victory over an incumbent of the same party, leveraging social media and grassroots organizations for support, all the while gaining massive coverage on traditional media.

Sounds like a leader to me. If the Democrats are half as well organized as they were when they screwed Bernie out of delegates last time, they are either looking at AOC as a potential candidate as soon as she's eligible or cribbing her strategy for the next dinosaur in line. One of those has a higher chance of succeeding than the other.
 
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If the gov does shut down again, it will be the 4th to happen under his watch which will make him #1 on the leader board. He's currently tied for Reagan with 3, but it took Ronnie 6 years instead of just two. And yes he is up to 3, not 2. People forget that it shut down for a few hours last Feb when Rand Paul pretended to act like he actually had something resembling a backbone.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...hour-by-hour-drama-of-the-overnight-shutdown/
 
 
Trump has said he will sign the budget bill, and then declare an emergency...



EDIT:

McConnell: Trump says he'll sign spending deal on border security, declare national emergency

WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced Thursday afternoon that President Donald Trump will sign a government spending package that resulted from bipartisan negotiations over border security and also will declare a national emergency, which Trump has intended to use to obtain more money for his proposed wall.
"I just had an opportunity to speak with President Trump and he’s prepared to sign the bill," McConnell, R-Ky., said on the Senate floor. "He will also be signing a national emergency declaration at the same time."

After the Senate votes, the House is also expected to pass the spending package.
Trump said earlier in the day that he was still reviewing the bill. In the morning, Republican senators had said that they "pray" Trump signs it into law, averting another government shutdown on Friday.
The Senate is expected to act first on the 1,159-page bill, which was released just after midnight. The House will likely vote later in the evening, ahead of the Friday night deadline to prevent another partial government shutdown.
Trump had said he is not "happy" with the measure, though he has been expected to sign it. "Reviewing the funding bill with my team at the @WhiteHouse!" he tweeted Thursday afternoon, ahead of the Senate vote.
The bill would provide $1.375 billion for 55 miles of pedestrian and levee fencing in the Rio Grande Valley, significantly less than Trump's $5.7 billion request. It also prohibits the use of a concrete wall or other Trump prototypes and specifies that only "existing technologies" for fencing and barriers can be used.

More at the link
 
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Well, The crazy fuck actually did it, he declared a national emergency to build his stupid wall.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/15/us/politics/national-emergency-trump.html

To recap:
Mexico will pay for it
Congress will pay for it.

Fuck it, let's raid the funds for victims of natural disasters to fund something that isn't needed and people don't want.

Let's jump in the wayback machine:

Trump himself has said that he doesn't need to do this, he just wants it now. He's a fucking toddler throwing a tantrum because he didn't get the toy he wanted. He didn't take any questions from reporters, he flat out lied about how drugs and illegal immigrants get into the country, and how many there are.

Declaring a fake emergency to seize executive control is right out of the Fascism and Authoritarianism textbook.
 
While I'm glad that the wall will be built and I don't think that this is an illegal move, I do fear that it sets a bad precedent.

You are quite correct in your fear. This one is ISO for insane people in power on this side of the border. Also a favorite of Mr. Maduro and 21st century socialism leaders, if memory serves me right.
 
While I'm glad that the wall will be built and I don't think that this is an illegal move, I do fear that it sets a bad precedent.

Whether you think so or not is irrelevant, Congress has the ability to overrule Trump on this one. It's only come close to happening once before, Bush wanted to use his emergency powers to suspend the laws regarding pay to rebuild after Katrina; Congress threatened to overturn his declaration and he backed off without it coming to a vote. This is also the first time a president has ever used an emergency declaration to overrule congress. It's in the National Emergencies Act of 1975, which allows Congress to terminate a presidential emergency by simple majority vote. By the way, Republican leadership can't block the vote: Under the law, Congress has 15 business days to bring it out of committee and to the floor.

Trump is the first president in the history of the US to use an emergency clause in the Constitution to subvert the democratic process for his own agenda. This is way beyond "concerned about the precedent"; we are into "this is how democracies fall."

In terms of a legal challenge: Trump's own tweets indicate that there is no national emergency, the data doesn't support a national emergency, and then there's the laws that prohibit the deploying of troops domestically that would have to be overcome for any of this to stand.
 
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Only half true, as usual.

While true that SCOTUS struck down the original wording of the majority vote (I was mistaken on that and have transparently revised my previous post), POTUS can still be overruled with a veto-proof majority to end the declared emergency.

Trump can access unallocated military funds or FEMA funds for this - that means taking away from disaster relief or things like military housing. Good thing there's no problems with military housing right now... well shit.
 

 
From Ann Coulter:


No, the goal of a national emergency is for Trump to scam the stupidest people in his base for 2 more years.
 
And here it is...

Presidential Proclamation on Declaring a National Emergency Concerning the Southern Border of the United States

The current situation at the southern border presents a border security and humanitarian crisis that threatens core national security interests and constitutes a national emergency. The southern border is a major entry point for criminals, gang members, and illicit narcotics. The problem of large-scale unlawful migration through the southern border is long-standing, and despite the executive branch’s exercise of existing statutory authorities, the situation has worsened in certain respects in recent years. In particular, recent years have seen sharp increases in the number of family units entering and seeking entry to the United States and an inability to provide detention space for many of these aliens while their removal proceedings are pending. If not detained, such aliens are often released into the country and are often difficult to remove from the United States because they fail to appear for hearings, do not comply with orders of removal, or are otherwise difficult to locate. In response to the directive in my April 4, 2018, memorandum and subsequent requests for support by the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense has provided support and resources to the Department of Homeland Security at the southern border. Because of the gravity of the current emergency situation, it is necessary for the Armed Forces to provide additional support to address the crisis.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including sections 201 and 301 of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), hereby declare that a national emergency exists at the southern border of the United States, and that section 12302 of title 10, United States Code, is invoked and made available, according to its terms, to the Secretaries of the military departments concerned, subject to the direction of the Secretary of Defense in the case of the Secretaries of the Army, Navy, and Air Force. To provide additional authority to the Department of Defense to support the Federal Government’s response to the emergency at the southern border, I hereby declare that this emergency requires use of the Armed Forces and, in accordance with section 301 of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1631), that the construction authority provided in section 2808 of title 10, United States Code, is invoked and made available, according to its terms, to the Secretary of Defense and, at the discretion of the Secretary of Defense, to the Secretaries of the military departments. I hereby direct as follows:

Section 1. The Secretary of Defense, or the Secretary of each relevant military department, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, shall order as many units or members of the Ready Reserve to active duty as the Secretary concerned, in the Secretary’s discretion, determines to be appropriate to assist and support the activities of the Secretary of Homeland Security at the southern border.

Sec. 2. The Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and, subject to the discretion of the Secretary of Defense, the Secretaries of the military departments, shall take all appropriate actions, consistent with applicable law, to use or support the use of the authorities herein invoked, including, if necessary, the transfer and acceptance of jurisdiction over border lands.

Sec. 3. This proclamation is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fifteenth day of February, in the year of our Lord two thousand nineteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-third.

DONALD J. TRUMP
 
Dictators and Despots: Chapter 1: Consolidating Executive Authority via Emergency Powers.
 
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