美国国家公共电台 NPR Trump Vetoes Congressional Effort To Limit Border Wall Funding

 

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

A showdown over border security and the limits of presidential power came to a head at the White House this afternoon. President Trump¹ used his veto power for the first time, challenging congressional Democrats² and some members of his own party. He vetoed a congressional resolution that would have limited spending on his controversial border wall.

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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Congress has the freedom to pass this resolution, and I have the duty to veto it.

SHAPIRO: This comes after 12 Republican senators joined Democrats in an effort to regain³ control of the government's purse strings⁴. NPR's Scott Horsley joins us from the White House. Hi, Scott.

SCOTT HORSLEY, BYLINE⁵: Hi, Ari.

SHAPIRO: What does this veto mean for the border wall?

HORSLEY: Well, it means the wall can go forward with a price tag billions of dollars higher than Congress had authorized⁶. Remember, the president wanted $5.7 billion for the wall. Congress would only give him $1.3 billion. This was why we had a government shutdown for 35 days. It's why the president declared an emergency last month. Both the House and Senate voted to block that emergency declaration. And that's the move that the president vetoed today. Trump insists the country needs a more expensive and expansive border wall to deal with a surge of illegal border crossings.

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TRUMP: We're on track for 1 million illegal aliens to rush our borders. People hate the word invasion, but that's what it is. It's an invasion of drugs and criminals and people.

SHAPIRO: Fact check that for us, Scott. Are we seeing a big spike⁷ in border crossings?

HORSLEY: Well, we have seen a big increase in recent months. Last month, more than 76,000 people tried to cross the border. That's the highest in more than a decade. Many of those were women and - women and children coming from Central America. And that does put a strain on immigration enforcement.

We should add though, Ari, Trump's former chief of staff, John Kelly, who was also Homeland Security secretary for a time, told NPR that for the most part, those Central American migrants are not criminals. They are not dangerous. And what's more, many of them voluntarily surrender to Border Patrol agents when they do cross the border. So it's not clear a wall is really the best way to address those increased numbers.

SHAPIRO: This veto is not the end of the fight over the border wall. What happens next?

HORSLEY: The president's Congressional critics don't appear to have the votes to override⁸ the president's veto. But the emergency declaration does still face a variety of legal challenges. Trump insists it will pass constitutional muster⁹. But even some Republican lawmakers are not so sure about that. Tennessee Senator Lamar Alexander is one of a dozen Republican senators who voted to block the additional wall spending.

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LAMAR ALEXANDER: This would be the first time that a president has ever asked for a certain amount of money from Congress. Congress has refused to provide it. And then the president has declared a national emergency under the 1976 Act and said I'm going to spend the money anyway.

HORSLEY: Now, the president said today he didn't lean on the Republicans who feel the way that Senator Alexander did. But he stressed that most Republicans in the Senate did vote to uphold his emergency declaration.

SHAPIRO: Scott, on another subject, the president talked about the deadly mosque¹⁰ shootings in New Zealand. What did he have to say there?

HORSLEY: The president spoke¹¹ by phone earlier today with the prime minister of New Zealand and told her the U.S. stands in solidarity¹² with her country as it copes with what he called a horrific event. The president, who spends a good deal of time talking about crimes carried out by immigrants, was also asked if he thinks white nationalism is a growing threat. And Trump said he doesn't think so. According to the Anti-Defamation League, all 50 of the extremist killings¹³ in this country last year were carried out by extremists on the right.

SHAPIRO: Scott, before I let you go, I need to mention that today is your last day covering the White House after 10 years on the beat. Four of those years I shared the beat with you. Before you go cover economics for us, what are you going to miss about covering the White House?

HORSLEY: Well, Ari, as you know, it is like riding a roller coaster for 10 straight years. But it has been a rare privilege to have had a window seat on two presidents now as they made history. And even on the toughest days, when you walk outside and you look up at that beautiful white building and think about everything it stands for - for people in this country and around the world - it's been a rare treat. And I wouldn't trade that for anything.

SHAPIRO: Thank you for your great work over the years. NPR's Scott Horsley joining us from the White House.

HORSLEY: Thank you.

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。

4 strings   

n.弦

参考例句：

• He sat on the bed,idly plucking the strings of his guitar.他坐在床上，随意地拨着吉他的弦。
• She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 authorized   

a.委任的，许可的

参考例句：

• An administrative order is valid if authorized by a statute.如果一个行政命令得到一个法规的认可那么这个命令就是有效的。

7 spike   

n.长钉，钉鞋；v.以大钉钉牢，使...失效

参考例句：

• The spike pierced the receipts and held them in order.那个钉子穿过那些收据并使之按顺序排列。
• They'll do anything to spike the guns of the opposition.他们会使出各种手段来挫败对手。

8 override   

vt.不顾，不理睬，否决；压倒，优先于

参考例句：

• The welfare of a child should always override the wishes of its parents.孩子的幸福安康应该永远比父母的愿望来得更重要。
• I'm applying in advance for the authority to override him.我提前申请当局对他进行否决。

9 muster   

v.集合，收集，鼓起，激起；n.集合，检阅，集合人员，点名册

参考例句：

• Go and muster all the men you can find.去集合所有你能找到的人。
• I had to muster my courage up to ask him that question.我必须鼓起勇气向他问那个问题。

10 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

11 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

12 solidarity   

n.团结；休戚相关

参考例句：

• They must preserve their solidarity.他们必须维护他们的团结。
• The solidarity among China's various nationalities is as firm as a rock.中国各族人民之间的团结坚如磐石。

13 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。