Hirono: “Donald Trump is Putting His Vanity Wall above the Constitution and the American People.”

HONOLULU – Senator Mazie K. Hirono, the Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, issued the following statement following Donald Trump’s declaration of a national emergency:

“At today’s announcement, Donald Trump lied about walls, borders, crime, and legal immigration to justify his declaration of a fake emergency at our southern border. With this desperate action, Donald Trump is putting his vanity wall above the Constitution and the American people. As usual, his announcement was long on lies and short on justification.

“Let’s call today’s action what it is: a blatant, illegal power grab that steals money from our military to advance Donald Trump's personal agenda. Diverting billions of dollars from planned investments in critical military projects across the world doesn’t make us safer. The President has demonstrated time and again that he doesn’t care that the chaos he creates results in wasted time and resources being expended to clean up his mess – including those spent on court challenges.

“Republicans need to say enough is enough and join us in acting like a separate branch of government by terminating this so-called emergency declaration as soon as possible, and focusing instead on the real needs of all Americans.”

###