Torres Statement on Senate Vote to Terminate Trump’s Emergency Declaration
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Representative Norma J. Torres (D-CA) released the following statement after the U.S. Senate, including 12 Republican Senators, voted in support of the resolution of disapproval to terminate President Trump's emergency declaration:
"Today's bipartisan Senate vote was an important step to reassert the independence of Congress as a co-equal branch of government. I'm pleased that the Senate has joined the House of Representatives in reminding President Trump that in the American system of government, it's Congress, not the Executive, that's responsible for deciding how the taxpayers' hard-earned dollars will be spent.
"President Trump's declaration of a national emergency was a blatant attempt to thwart the will of Congress. When Congress rejected his request for $5.7 billion for a border wall, he decided to use his emergency powers to obtain the funds that Congress denied him. And if there was ever any doubt about President Trump's intentions, he removed that doubt when he told the country: ‘I didn't need to do this.' Mr. President, if you didn't need to do it, it's not an emergency."
Torres is a member of the House Appropriations and Rules Committees.
###