Texas lawmakers in Washington reacted to President Trump’s national emergency declaration with bipartisan uncertainty or disapproval.
In January, Republican Sen. John Cornyn criticized the president’s strategy of building a border wall by approaching the issue as a crisis.
“There have been emergencies declared in the past. Almost invariably they end up in court,” Cornyn said.
But this week Cornyn said he would need to study the emergency order before deciding whether or not he supports the effort.
Republican U.S. Rep. Will Hurd, whose district stretches from San Antonio to El Paso, said he does not support the president’s declaration.
Democratic lawmakers wanting to halt any presidential order can ask the courts to determine if it passes constitutional muster.
U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Democrat whose district stretches from San Antonio to Laredo, said lawmakers can also take congressional action under the National Emergencies Act.
“Under this act, it basically adds some limits, and one of the big limits is that Congress can void what the president does, so we have to pass a resolution in the House and one in the Senate,” Cuellar said.
Democrat U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, who represents Bexar County, said he will file a resolution to terminate the president’s emergency declaration.
Ryan Poppe can be reached at RPoppe@TPR.org and on Twitter at @RyanPoppe1.
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