WASHINGTON (AP) – The No. 2 House Democrat is blaming President Donald Trump for the partial government shutdown and says Trump is holding the government “hostage.” Maryland Democrat Steny Hoyer says Tuesday that “in another context, we would call that an act of kidnapping or terrorism.”
Hoyer says it would be akin to an imposition of martial law if Trump declares a national emergency in order to unilaterally build a Southwest border wall. He says Trump doesn’t have that authority and doing that “certainly could” be an abuse of power.
Hoyer compares it to other governments “declaring martial law and justifying them in doing whatever they want to do.”
Democrats are refusing to give Trump $5.7 billion to build the wall. The impasse has led to a partial government shutdown, now in its third week.
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