House Democrats’ effort to nullify President Donald Trump’s national emergency declaration is expected to divide Georgia lawmakers along party lines on Tuesday, but the real drama is expected in the Senate. That’s where several Republicans, including three-term U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, are still weighing their discomfort with the president’s move to circumvent Congress to pay for a border wall with Mexico.
The House on Tuesday is poised to pass Democrats’ one-page resolution of disapproval, with few Republicans expected to cross over and back the legislation. Georgia’s five Democrats have all expressed displeasure with the border wall and Trump’s emergency declaration, with several framing their opposition in constitutional terms.
“This president is attempting to shake the very foundation of our democracy by disrespecting the fiscal authority granted only to Congress,” said U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-Atlanta, a prominent critic of Trump’s. “It unhinges the separation of powers, a cornerstone of our democracy, and opens the door to widespread abuse, like that in historic authoritarian regimes in the Soviet Union, Chile, Libya, and the Philippines.”
The White House has spent the last several days working to tamp down on GOP defections so the bill isn't passed with anything close to a veto-proof majority.
Among Georgia Republicans, at least, the effort appears to have paid off.
Nearly all of the state's GOP lawmakers in the House have signaled they'll stick with the president, even those who privately expressed discomfort with the historical precedent the declaration would set. That includes lawmakers who previously lambasted President Barack Obama for executive overreach and represent districts with military bases that could see construction funding diverted to help pay for new border barriers.
“Congress’ inaction has inevitably forced President Trump to declare a national emergency to meet the needs at the border,” said Tifton Republican Austin Scott, whose 8th Congressional District is home to Robins Air Force Base.
The Democrats on the House Appropriations Committee estimated that $234 million in military construction projects in Georgia are eligible to have their funds diverted under a national emergency, although the White House has yet to release specifics. Local lawmakers say they've been assured by the White House budget office that federal funding for the Savannah harbor deepening project, the state's top economic development priority, will not be siphoned away to pay for the wall.
Isakson, Perdue weigh in
With House passage all but assured, much of the political mystery surrounding the disapproval resolution lies across the Capitol.
Assuming all 47 Senate Democrats back the bill, only four Republican defections are needed to send the legislation to the president’s desk. Three GOP senators – Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Thom Tillis of North Carolina – have already announced plans to vote against it, and several others have expressed deep misgivings about the emergency designation.
One of those lawmakers is Isakson. He previously expressed reservations about an executive having unchecked power, but on Monday he also fretted about Democrats' political motivations since Trump doesn't need Congress to weigh in to move forward.
“I’m saying this not as a criticism of anybody, but I tend to think the desire to have this vote is more for political reasons than practical reasons, since I understand (Trump) can do it anyway,” he said of the resolution of disapproval.
Isakson said he’s still reviewing the details of Trump’s emergency proclamation and has yet to make a final decision on the legislation.
“I want to make sure we understand whatever we do is going to apply to both parties - or no party - and anybody who gets elected president is going to have the authority to declare the emergency. And it’s going to set a precedent in terms of what that emergency might be,” he said. “Because of that we have to be very careful.”
Perdue, meanwhile, confirmed he’ll support the president’s position, citing his recent trip to the Texas border with colleague Steve Daines.
“I was not prepared for the amount of drug traffic that we saw,” said Perdue, a top ally of the president’s who is up for re-election in 2020.
“This is not a small thing for me, because I know we may have a Democrat in the White House that I might disagree with” in the future, he said. “You have to look at it with all possibilities in mind, and I think we’ve got a full-blown invasion right now of illegal drugs.”
Since the president moved to declare the emergency earlier this month, groups of former Republican members of Congress and ex-national security officials have voiced their opposition to the designation.
Trump has also upped his pressure on GOP senators, tweeting on Monday that they should not fall into Democrats’ “trap” of “open borders and crime.” He’s vowed to veto the resolution of disapproval.
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