WASHINGTON, D.C. — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi warned President Donald Trump on Thursday that a future Democratic president could declare a national emergency to achieve an agenda, such as gun control policy.
Responding to the president’s announcement that he will declare a national emergency related to the U.S. southern border, Pelosi maintained that “Democratic presidents can declare emergencies as well. So the precedent that the president is setting here is something that should be met with great unease and dismay by the Republicans.” (RELATED: Trump Will Sign Border Bill, Declare National Emergency)
U.S. Speaker of the House Rep. Nancy Pelosi speaks during a weekly news conference January 17, 2019 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Speaker Pelosi told reporters at her weekly press conference, “You want to talk about a national emergency? Let’s talk about today, the one-year anniversary of another manifestation of the epidemic of gun violence in America. That’s a national emergency. Why don’t you declare that emergency, Mr. President?”
“I’m not advocating for any president to do an end run around Congress. I’m just saying that the Republicans should have some dismay about the door they are opening, the threshold they are crossing,” Pelosi continued.
The Senate voted to pass the government funding and border security bill late Thursday afternoon, and the House is expected to bring the bill to the floor later in the early evening.
Kerry Picket is a host on SiriusXM Patriot 125