On February 15th, Donald Trump declared the United States to be in a state of national emergency. This is a common procedure used by many presidents to bypass Congress in cases where time is of the essence. Obama declared a state of national emergency 13 times during his presidency, typically by blocking property in dangerous territories. So why is this such a big deal?

In 1976, The National Emergencies Act was established. It allowed presidents to circumvent the democratic process by moving around funds so that things can be done quickly. However, the president has never done this specifically to go against the ruling of Congress.

16 states led by California and New York are suing Trump over his plan to take billions of dollars from the Department of Defense funding to build a wall on the southern border. According to the New York Times, “The suit argues that the president does not have the power to divert funds for constructing a wall along the Mexican border because it is Congress that controls spending.”  The states, except Maryland, are all led by democratic governors.

California is the primary plaintiff in this case because they are the only border state arguing that Trump’s use of power is unconstitutional. Since they are affected by the border wall, they have the most standing for this case

An LHS senior, Sara Bitter, says Trump’s declaration of national emergency this isn’t okay. “Presidents can’t just bend the rules like this for themselves. Congress ruled the way they did for a reason, and he can’t just ignore that.”