Other views: A principled GOP no matter who’s in charge
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., Fox News.com: “I would literally lose my political soul if I decided to treat President Donald Trump different than President Barack Obama . ... I support President Trump. I supported his fight to get funding for the wall ... However, I cannot support the use of emergency powers to get more funding, so I will be voting to disapprove of his declaration when it comes before the Senate. Every single Republican I know decried President Obama’s use of executive power to legislate. We were right then. But the only way to be an honest officeholder is to stand up for the same principles no matter who is in power.”
Peter J. Wallison, The Wall Street Journal: “Despite all the claims about Mr. Trump’s overstepping, the emergency declaration itself will probably be upheld by the Supreme Court. Congress has provided no standard to judge whether an actual emergency exists, and it is all but inconceivable that the justices would assert the power to impose their own definition. Eventually, then, although particular funding sources will be fought over statute by statute, the president will likely be able to build his border wall. Some of the funding can come from sources that can be reprogrammed under existing appropriation rules without an emergency declaration.”
The Washington Post, editorial: “If both houses of Congress were to rebuke Mr. Trump’s emergency declaration, it would send a strong signal to the courts that lawmakers do not consider the nonexistent border crisis to be an emergency — and that the president is breaking the trust Congress placed in the executive branch when lawmakers delegated emergency powers to the White House.”
Judd Gregg, The Hill: “One can understand that Republicans in the Senate do not wish to end up divided from the Republican president. This is not a good political place to be. But Republican senators should be committed to doing the politically difficult thing. A Republican Senate should be made up of individuals who are strong enough in their own right to stand for the institution’s unique role.”