Thread by @nycsouthpaw

You’re going to hear and read that declaring a national emergency has happened before, that there are 31 extant national emergencies, and one more is not a big deal.

But it is a big deal.

What’s happening today is fundamentally different from, say, the National Emergency Prohibiting Certain Transactions with Respect to the Development of Iranian Petroleum Resources. This isn’t a purely foreign affairs or international law enforcement determination.

What’s happening today is the president sought an appropriation for a program from congress, he didn’t get as much money for it as he wanted, and he’s trying to seize the appropriations power for himself—redirecting money for other things to his favored program.

Under the Supreme Court’s controlling case on these kinds of conflicts, Youngstown, when the President acts contrary to a congressional determination his powers are at their absolute minimum. We should use that rubric to analyze this declaration and find it unconstitutional imo.

The Youngstown approach at least is more illuminating than comparing this declaration to the National Emergency Blocking Property of Persons Who Threaten International Stabilization Efforts in the Western Balkans. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.