February 15, 2019
Washington, DC – In response to Trump’s National Emergency Declaration, Greenpeace USA Executive Director Annie Leonard said,
“President Trump’s National Emergency Declaration is yet another egregious overstep in his portfolio and unacceptable abuse of executive power. His plan to declare a national emergency, under false pretenses, to build a wall on the U.S./Mexican border works to further divide us as a nation when we need to be mobilizing quickly towards real solutions to climate change. The climate-denier-in-chief would rather waste our resources on a crisis that doesn’t exist, rather than addressing the real national emergency — climate change — one that is threatening our planet at an unthinkable pace. Plain and simple, these are authoritarian practices and Trump is abusing his power by bypassing the democratic checks and balances our Constitution has put in place for exactly this reason.
“Congress has the will of the people behind them to take on Trump’s baseless antics and put us on the path of having a government that is accountable to us — not corporations and lobbyists who take little issue in wrecking the planet simply to line their pockets. Trump has had ample opportunity to declare a national emergency when it really mattered, yet doubles down on wasting taxpayer money to prop up a racist border wall, whose foundation is built on hateful and divisive speech. And while the majority of Americans oppose the wall, more than half of Trump voters have said they support clean energy initiatives and eliminating federal subsidies to fossil fuel companies. This is what we should be focusing our energy on — policies that sustain our environment and our communities, and demanding Congress hold this administration accountable for disparaging the democratic principles meant to protect us against authoritarian practices.
“What we need are true leaders in Congress who recognize the climate crisis we face and who know that corporate money in politics is at the root of these issues. It’s time for Congress to hold Trump accountable and put us on a path to a healthy democracy.”
Media contacts:
Travis Nichols, [email protected], 206.802.8498
