In civics class I was taught Congress had the “power of the purse.”So it struck me that the state of emergency declared by the president runs counter to the tenets of democracy we were taught in school. A president came to Congress with a request for funding but Congress said “we don’t want to empty our purse this way.”

Instead of abiding by the constitutional separation of powers, this president found a workaround: declare an emergency and rob the purse.

Republicans and Democrats concerned about checks and balances, about keeping one person from gathering too much power, should be very concerned about this declaration, regardless of their feelings about immigration or building walls.If emergencies are so loosely defined now (the president during his press conference admitted it wasn’t a real emergency), and congressional agreement is not needed, I look forward to future emergencies that will find funding for healthcare for all, to stop climate change, or to stop the epidemic of gun violence in this country.