A slew of Democratic 2020 presidential hopefuls on Thursday condemned the Trump administration after the White House announced that in addition to signing a border security compromise package the president would also declare a national emergency to acquire funding for his campaign-promised wall at the nation’s southern border.
“President Trump will sign the government funding bill, and as he has stated before, he will also take other executive action -- including a national emergency -- to ensure we stop the national security and humanitarian crisis at the border," White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement. "The president is once again delivering on his promise to build the wall, protect the border, and secure our great country.”
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Constructing a wall at the U.S.-Mexico border was a signature campaign promise from Trump during his campaign for the White House. It has since proved to be a point of contention between Republicans and Democrats.
California Sen. Kamala Harris slammed Trump on Twitter, calling the national emergency maneuver “ridiculous” and labeled his sought-after barrier his “vanity project.”
“We don't need a wall. Instead, we should address the actual emergencies facing our country — everything from gun violence to the opioid crisis,” she wrote.
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Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., echoed that sentiment.
“Gun violence is an emergency. Climate change is an emergency. Our country's opioid epidemic is an emergency,” she tweeted. “Donald Trump's ridiculous wall is not an emergency.”
In a separate tweet, she also accused the president of "throwing a temper tantrum."
"Mexico wouldn't pay for @realDonaldTrump's wall. Congress wouldn't fully fund it. So now he's throwing a temper tantrum and declaring a 'national emergency,'" she tweeted.
Declaring a national emergency would be “an outrageous abuse of power,” Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y. tweeted.
“Drop the absurd wall and do your job,” she wrote.
New Jersey Democratic Sen. Corey Booker also weighed in, tweeting that the president’s “inability to follow through on a campaign promise is not a national emergency.”
And Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii labeled the move a "very dangerous precedent."
"Every time a president declares a 'national emergency' in order to get his way on a particular issue, the closer we are to a dictatorship," she tweeted. "Who needs Congress or the people if the president can make the decision on issues by himself?"
Fox News’ Alex Pappas contributed to this report.
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