Trump's National Emergency Sets Up Legal Fight Over Spending Authority

Before President Trump even uttered the words "national emergency" on Friday, there was already a lot of talk about legal challenges.

Here's the central question: Is it constitutional for the president to ignore Congress's decision not to give him all the money he wants for a Southern border wall — and instead, get it through a declaration of a national emergency?

Trump clearly anticipates a court fight, and is looking to the new hard-line conservative Supreme Court majority for help. As he put it speaking in the White House Rose Garden Friday: "We will possibly get a bad ruling, and then we'll get another bad ruling, and then we'll end up in the Supreme Court, and hopefully we'll get a fair shake."

According to the Brennan Center for Justice, presidents have declared national emergencies 60 times (including Trump) since the power was codified in 1976. He does have broad power under the emergency law, but not unlimited power.

Since it is not yet entirely clear what precise provisions the president is relying on, it is unclear exactly where the legal battle lines will be drawn.

https://www.npr.org/2019/02/16/695321387/trumps-national-emergency-sets-up-legal-fight-over-spending-authority