GOP Rep. Amash: Trump ‘Is Violating Our Constitutional System’

Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI) said President Donald Trump’s emergency declaration was a violation of the American constitutional system.

Host Jake Tapper asked, “Do you think Republicans supporting this national emergency are abdicating their responsibilities to the constitution?”

Amash replied, “I think so yes. I don’t think that they are all intending to do that. I think many of them are making arguments, trying to make legal arguments. They say while Congress has passed legislation giving the president this power, So I don’t think that they are thinking to themselves, ‘Oh, I just want the president to violate the Constitution.’ But I think the president is violating our constitutional system. And I don’t think Congress can grant legislative powers to the president by statute. You can’t just pass a statute that says the president now has appropriations power and bypass Congress. I don’t think that’s allowed under our Constitutional system. And the best check on the president’s action is Congress. It’s not the courts. Our system is not designed, so the courts are going to resolve these disputes all the time between the legislative branch and executive branch. We have to protect our own power. And that’s what I’m doing. I’m hopeful many Republican senators will agree.”

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