Saunders Salutes Budget Compromise, Calls State of Emergency an Abuse of Power

Washington — AFSCME President Lee Saunders issued the following statement in response to President Donald Trump’s decision to sign a budget bill and declare a national emergency for border wall funding:

“I’m pleased that we have a bipartisan spending package that will keep the government open and give federal employees a 1.9 percent raise. Going forward, we need an end to the brinksmanship and a return to normalcy when it comes to funding the government. That means budgets passed on time, with no more manufactured crises that threaten to disrupt public services.

“But the president’s decision to declare a state of emergency to build a border wall is an abuse of power. Having failed to achieve his goals through the normal give-and-take of governing, his plans to pursue a deeply divisive ideological strategy are harmful to our democracy. Emergency powers exist to address pressing matters of life and death, not to help presidents shore up their political base.”