February 22, 2019 04:21 PM UTC

Where Does Gardner Actually Stand on Trump's "Emergency"?

•  
• by: Colorado Pols

We’ve been keeping track in this space of Sen. Cory Gardner’s (R-Yuma) slow waffle on supporting President Trump’s “emergency declaration” so that he can hijack other funds to build his great big wall. Last week, literally hours before Trump declared his great big emergency, Gardner told Colorado Public Radio’s Ryan Warner that he opposed the idea of an emergency declaration:

GARDNER: …I don’t think he should do anything without Congress’ approval. It’s important for Congress to have the appropriate oversight…

WARNER: So how do you get the message to [President Trump] perhaps that you don’t want him to declare a national emergency, as has been hinted, or raid other funds for this?

GARDNER: Well, it’s pretty simple. I can tell him that in person, that I think Congress needs to do its job.

WARNER: Have you done that?

GARDNER: I have.

WARNER: Alright.

We have since learned that Gardner is among a handful of Republican leaders who speak regularly with Trump on the phone, which makes Gardner’s claim that he told Trump not to go the “emergency declaration” route all the more plausible.

Anyhoo, Gardner started backpedaling on his opposition to Trump’s plan the very next day, telling Anna Staver of the Denver Post that he was “reviewing” the President’s emergency declaration.

This brings us full circle back to Warner, who is doggedly trying to figure out WTF Gardner is doing here:

Still trying to get @SenCoryGardner to give me his stance on the emergency declaration. Does he support or not? No matter how you feel about the wall, you should know where a US Senator stands. (I have included his remarks before and after @realDonaldTrump declared). #copolitics https://t.co/iViIRIEZaw

— Ryan Warner (@cprwarner) February 22, 2019

Yeah, not a good look at all.