GOP Lawmaker Slams Republicans For Letting Trump ‘Usurp Legislative Powers’
Republican Representative Justin Amash of Michigan took to social media on Saturday to slam his Republican colleagues for letting President Donald Trump “usurp legislative powers,” The Hill reports.
The libertarian-leaning Republican, who is often critical of President Trump, pointed out that Congress Republicans were eager to condemn Barack Obama’s executive overreach, but continue to cheer Donald Trump on, as he continues to abuse his executive powers.
“The same congressional Republicans who joined me in blasting Pres. Obama’s executive overreach now cry out for a king to usurp legislative powers. If your faithfulness to the Constitution depends on which party controls the White House, then you are not faithful to it.”
Amash’s comments were in reference to Donald Trump’s declaring of a national emergency. As detailed by a previous Inquisitr report, on February 16, Trump declared a national emergency in order to end the “crisis” at the southern border.
The president plans on ending the alleged crisis by building a wall, and therefore fulfilling one of his key campaign promises.
The president’s order of national emergency came following unproductive bipartisan talks, and a few weeks after the longest and most expensive government shutdown in U.S. history. Now, in an effort to build the wall, Trump is looking to allocate money from other government departments.
While virtually all Democrats have condemned Trump’s decision, only a handful of Republican lawmakers have come out against it. Justin Amash is one of them. Amash is, in fact, co-sponsoring legislation introduced on February 22 by Democratic Representative Joaquin Castro of Texas.
GOP lawmaker critical of Trump move blasts Republicans who "cry out for a king" https://t.co/ym0rbtj4Rs pic.twitter.com/IAGGItFDf0
— The Hill (@thehill) February 24, 2019
Co-signed by 226 House lawmakers, the legislation is meant to block Trump from declaring a national emergency. The measure will likely pass the Democratic-controlled House, but even if it passes the GOP-controlled Senate, President Trump will veto it.
“Will I veto it? One hundred percent. One hundred percent,” Trump told reporters on Friday, adding that the resolution will likely pass in the Senate because there are “smart people” who want border security.
Trump has made immigration one of his signature issues, and often criticizes the Democratic Party for being too soft on it, frequently alleging that it is becoming a party of “open borders.”
Michigan Representative Justin Amash has previously condemned Trump’s order, accusing the president of “circumventing” the constitutional system, according to The Hill.
Amash’s Saturday comments appear to have impressed some of his Democratic colleagues as well. Representative Ted Lieu of California took to Twitter to praise Amash, calling the Republican lawmaker “principled, consistent, and courageous.”
“Justin Amash is my favorite Republican Member of Congress. While we don’t always agree, I have always found him to be principled, consistent and courageous,” Lieu wrote.
