Trump's Justice Department defends his first veto as 'consistent with the law'

Donald Trump.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

President Trump's national emergency is officially official.

After failing to get funding for his border wall through Congress, the president declared a national emergency to access more money to build it. Both the House and Senate decisively rebuked Trump for the move in a resolution to terminate the declaration, but he vetoed it Friday, letting the emergency stand while bringing in some reinforcements to defend it.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

At the veto signing on Friday, Attorney General William Barr was on hand to say the emergency was "clearly consistent with the law," per a pool reporter. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), one of Trump's staunchest supporters, also tweeted his support for the veto and declared Trump was "right on the law" letting him declare the emergency. Democrats have questioned the legality of Trump declaring a national emergency for a shaky reason, and Republicans who voted for the resolution worried about the precedent it could set for future presidents who don't get their way.

Trump originally wanted $5.7 billion for his border wall and refused to pass a budget with less, prompting a five-week government shutdown. He eventually settled for $1.3 billion in the funding bill, but immediately declared the emergency to get another few billion dollars.

Explore More

Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.