VoteVets Statement on “National Emergency” Declared by Trump

Military members and their families will be the ones to pay for an unconstitutional move; VoteVets urges Congressional action

Washington, DC – The following is the statement of Jon Soltz, Iraq War veteran and Chair of VoteVets, on Donald Trump’s decision to invoke a national emergency, to build his wall:

“Donald Trump’s declaration of a national emergency, to seize powers given to the Congress, by the Constitution, is a gross abuse of power. As veterans, we swore to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.  Members of Congress took that same oath.  It is now up to them to live up to it, and defend the Constitution from Donald Trump, a domestic enemy to the Constitution.

“On a practical level, Donald Trump’s declaration will now take money from troops and their families, and re-appropriate it for his wall.  Everything down to the daycare they use for their childrenpotentially will face cuts.  After making hundreds of thousands of federal workers suffer (one-third of whom are veterans) during the Trump shutdown, Donald Trump will now punish our troops and military families, because he cannot get his vanity wall.

“There is indeed now a crisis.  But it is not at the border.  The crisis sits in the Oval Office.  It is high time for Congress to deal with that crisis.”