President Trump announced that he will declare a national emergency in order to build a wall across the southern border of the United States without congressional authorization. This is a ground for impeachment: abusing emergency powers to fund and build a border wall that Congress has explicitly refused to fund.
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We are urging Congress to pass a resolution calling for the House Committee on the Judiciary to investigate whether sufficient grounds exist for the impeachment of Donald John Trump, President of the United States.
Trump’s abuse of emergency powers is another ground for impeachment
The Framers of the Constitution gave each branch of the federal government distinct powers. This principle of separation of powers was designed as a bulwark against any one branch becoming too powerful.
Under Article I of the Constitution, only Congress decides what the federal government will spend money on, and how much: “No money shall be drawn from the treasury, but in consequence of appropriations made by law.” This “power of the purse” is strengthened by the fact that only Congress can raise the money in the first place: “The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States,” with the proviso that “[a]ll bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives.”
The executive branch, of course, has some flexibility in implementation details; Congress generally does not tell federal agencies how much to spend on pens versus pencils, or which brands to buy. But federal government spending is determined by Congress, not the president.
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Read Free Speech For People’s full statement on why Trump’s abuse of emergency powers is another ground for impeachment.
