Last week the Democrat-controlled House voted to set a deadline for US troops to withdraw from Iraq. Now the Senate has followed suit. President Bush is threatening to veto, but the deadline is in the very bill funding the war, so if he does, the troops won't get paid.
Basically, this is a game of chicken to see who will blink first - the President or Congress. I expect the political atmosphere in Washington to get very heated over the next couple of weeks as a result.
Presumably, Bush will just add a signing statement noting that he can/is ignoring the deadline.
ReplyDeleteWell, he can try. But I expect that will bring the whole question of presidential signing statements before the courts.
ReplyDeleteIdiot:Well, he can try. But I expect that will bring the whole question of presidential signing statements before the courts.
ReplyDeleteYou would think so. On the other hand, I would have thought than many of the other signing statements would also have provoked a trip to the courts. However, they didn't. So, I wouldn't hold out much hope for this one being any different.
I'm sure that any signing statement would be worded carefully, so it will be ambiguous whether the White House is ignoring the law or "interpreting the law as changing circumstances dictate".