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Trump’s Wall Emergency Starts Hitting the Legal Wall
The administration’s bid to use emergency powers for the border wall kept running into lawsuits and judicial skepticism, undercutting the whole premise of governing by decree.
Edition · March 19, 2019
The Daily Fuckup — March 19, 2019
A backfill edition on the day Trump’s wall-emergency ran headfirst into the courts, while the White House was still trying to pretend the political weather was fine.
On March 19, 2019, the Trump world’s biggest screwup was the one that refused to go away: the border wall emergency declaration was immediately colliding with litigation, skepticism, and the basic constitutional problem of trying to bypass Congress because Congress said no. The same day also brought more signs that Trump’s business and personal conduct were still hanging over him, with emoluments litigation pressing forward and judges visibly unconvinced by the “nothing to see here” routine. It was a day when the administration’s signature move looked less like strength than a forced march into a legal thicket of its own making.
Closing take
Trump spent months selling the wall emergency as a power play. By March 19, the power play was looking more like a dare to the courts — and the courts, as usual, were not impressed.
Ranked by how bad the fuckup was
5 stars means maximum fallout. 1 star means a smaller self-own.
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