When President Obama signed executive action in 2014 to protect Dreamers through DACA, then-Governor of Indiana Mike Pence warned against such a move because it supposedly amounted to executive overreach.
At that time, the Senate was controlled by Democrats and the House controlled by Republicans. The Senate passed a bipartisan bill, but the House rejected it, preferring to wait until January 2015 to start negotiations over again with a majority in the Senate. Understanding that action needed to be taken and that Republicans would never agree to a compromise, Obama did what had to be done and signed an executive order to protect undocumented children who have lived in this country for years and is the only home they’ve ever known.
But Pence didn’t see it that way. He and other Republicans accused him of executive overreach. During a Republican Governor’s Association panel that same year, Pence told MSNBC’s Chuck Todd that Obama should work with Congress and accused Obama of going against the wishes of the American people.
“I think it would be a profound mistake for the president of the United States to overturn American immigration law with the stroke of a pen,” Pence said. “I truly do. I believe that issues of this magnitude should always be resolved with the consent of the governed. The Senate passed a comprehensive immigration bill and the American people changed the majority in the Senate. What the president ought to do is sit down in January with the new Republican majority in the Senate and the historically new large majority in the House and search for common ground. That’s what leadership looks like.”
Here’s the video via Twitter:
“Issues of this magnitude should always be resolved with the consent of the governed … Not leadership”
— Mike Pence on use of presidential powers on immigration, during 11/19/2014 Republican Governors Association panel moderated by @chucktodd …. clip h/t @Journo_Christal pic.twitter.com/agDQ2RCBtr— Howard Mortman (@HowardMortman) February 15, 2019
In fact, an overwhelming majority of Americans actually supported the executive order and still do while opposing Republicans efforts to undo it.
And it’s clear that Pence is a hypocrite because he actually supports President Donald Trump’s national emergency declaration to build a wall most Americans do not want built.
Furthermore, while Americans supported Obama’s action, they fiercely oppose Trump’s national emergency declaration. Two-thirds of Americans reject the national emergency. CNN even points out that other polls show similar results.
“CNN’s poll isn’t the only one to reflect an opposition to the president’s use of a national emergency. Five other polls taken in January showed around one-third support and two-thirds opposition for executive action, including two from Quinnipiac University, one from Monmouth University, one from Fox News, and one from ABC/Washington Post. Some of these polls are conducted among registered voters, not just all American adults, but results remain relatively consistent.”
So, Trump is truly the one who is not resolving issues with consent of the governed. And Pence should be ashamed of himself for not condemning this real example of executive overreach.
Featured Image: Wikimedia
