President Donald Trump's first veto, being signed to reject a congressional resolution opposing his emergency declaration, marks a "sad and important moment," because of what it represents, Deputy Press Secretary Hogan Gidley said Friday.
"That is a lack of understanding and belief on the part of Democrats in Congress to recognize the serious, severe crisis we face along our southern border, and to recognize the emergency that exists in this country," Gidley told Fox News' "Outnumbered Overtime." "With so many people dying every year, people pouring into this country illegally, the drugs that are now in this country, that are killing American citizens."
Trump will have "angel" families, or people who lost family members to immigrant violence, at the veto event, which was scheduled for about 3:30 p.m., said Hogan.
"These deaths are needless, senseless, and 100 percent preventable," said Gidley. "This president has the power to do this and that authority was granted by Congress. All he's doing is enforcing the laws written and passed by Congress. "
There were also 12 Senate Republicans who voted against Trump's order, and Gidley said its "far from me" to try to guess why.
"Some mention the procedural line they didn't like, and some questioned it on other grounds," said Gidley. "That vote against that measure effectively makes our country less safe. It puts American people, American people's lives, at risk."
Officials from law enforcement and Customs and Border Protection will also be at the veto signing, said Gidley, "to explain exactly what's going on and what that vote meant to the people of this country."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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