On his first day back in office, Trump used the National Emergencies Act to deploy additional troops to the southern border and expedite new domestic energy production.

He issued a third executive order cracking down on drug cartels, citing related authorities under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

Trump pointed to each emergency declaration on Saturday as he levied new tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China, a move the White House said was necessary to stem the flow of migrants and fentanyl into the United States.

PRICES ON THESE ITEMS COULD BE AFFECTED BY TRUMP TARIFFS ON MEXICO, CANADA

The NEA has been used dozens of times since its enactment in 1976, usually to impose trade restrictions or sanction foreign actors. To this day, more than 40 emergencies are still in effect.

However, Trump is applying the statute in unprecedented ways that stretch the definition of a national emergency.

He is using its authorities to speed up drilling and pipeline projects at a time when natural gas exports are at a record high. His southern border declaration, meanwhile, follows a dramatic decline in illegal crossings at the tail end of the Biden administration. 

Border agents made fewer than 1,500 arrests per day ahead of Trump’s inauguration, down from the 10,000-plus daily crossers apprehended at the height of the border crisis in 2023.

Critics cry abuse at bypassing Congress

Critics of the emergency declarations fear a slippery slope in which the NEA’s powers are used to sidestep Congress or take dramatic steps that infringe civil liberties.

Emergency declarations unlock powers across more than 130 federal provisions that could, in theory, be used to seize assets without due process or restrict internet service.

“We understand emergencies as sudden and unexpected and responsive to quick fixes,” said Soren Dayton, the director of governance at the Washington-based Niskanen Center. “Neither the energy or border situations are that.”

Dayton also called President Joe Biden’s student loan cancellation program an “abuse” given its reliance on the COVID-19 national emergency declaration.

“Sometimes administrations use emergencies as a way to bypass regular lawmaking,” he said.

Trump challenges congressional authority

Trump’s emergency declarations reflect the aggressive posture he is taking in a second term. On his first day, Trump also issued an order delaying a ban on TikTok past a congressionally set deadline.

Days later, he fired more than a dozen agency watchdogs, ignoring a statutory requirement to inform Congress of his reasoning ahead of time.

Trump’s willingness to challenge congressional authority dates back to his first term. He declared his original emergency at the southern border in 2019 to construct a wall that Congress refused to finance fully.

Bipartisan majorities in both chambers tried to repeal the emergency twice, seeing it as an attempt to usurp their power of the purse, only to face Trump’s veto each time.

Trump has stoked new controversies as he seeks to push the envelope further in a second term.

Democrats celebrated last week as the White House issued and then withdrew a hastily-released memo freezing federal aid that threw states into a panic.

The about-face, which came after a judge paused the order, represented the rare case of Trump seemingly backpedaling in the face of a PR disaster. But he has plowed ahead on other executive actions without the same level of resistance, particularly from Republicans.

Republican senators generally shrugged over the TikTok order, viewing the delay as inconsequential if the end result is its sale to a U.S. company. Republican reaction was also muted over the inspector general firings, though Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), a defender of government watchdogs, sent a letter calling for Trump to provide congressionally mandated explanations for each.

On the emergency declarations, Trump has support this time around from corners of the GOP that ordinarily oppose unilateral executive action.

“I haven’t seen anything that he’s done right now that pushes the limits, certainly relative to what other presidents have done,” said Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT).

Lee was one of 12 GOP senators who voted to rescind Trump’s 2019 border declaration. He’s also the lead sponsor of the ARTICLE ONE Act, a bill that would rein in the ability to declare national emergencies.

Trump invites lawsuits

That’s not to say Trump won’t face opposition to his emergency declarations.

It’s unlikely a court will rule on what constitutes a national emergency, with judges reluctant to do so in past cases. The NEA itself does not contain a definition.

Trump’s expansive use of the statute is expected to provoke legal challenges, however, as his administration eases permitting and review requirements for energy projects.

“Is it going to be challenged? Undoubtedly,” said Dayton. “There is no shortage of money in the environmental movement to challenge whatever actions end up being taken under the emergency.”

The Trump administration maintains the powers are justified to counter the “active threat” of high energy costs, citing the “harmful and shortsighted policies of the previous administration” in its emergency declaration.

Republicans also point to competition with China on artificial intelligence in explaining their comfort with the energy executive order. The U.S. is in the process of bringing online new power plants to keep pace with the vast energy resources required for the technology.

“Now, is that a life-or-death type of emergency? Perhaps not, but it is an economic opportunity that if we miss [it], a lot of that stuff could go other places,” said Sen. Kevin Cramer, a Republican from energy-rich North Dakota.

On the border, the political climate has shifted in Republicans’ favor since 2019, with Democrats now reluctant to pick a fight over Trump’s executive actions. The GOP also has unified control of Washington in 2025, giving Trump a chance to secure the sort of border funding he wants without a congressional showdown.

Instead, Democrats have focused on the funding freeze as they struggle to find a cohesive message in Trump’s second term, with blowback to the White House memo representing their first chance to go back on offense.

“I think what happened, and I think this happened for the Left and the Right this week, is just a good reminder that nobody has magical political powers,” said Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI), a member of Senate Democratic leadership. “That if you do unpopular things, you get less popular. And if you do illegal things, courts will stop you.” 

“And so, I certainly think on the Left, it was a good reminder that we may be out of power, but we’re not powerless, and it’s a good reminder for people on the Right, that they may have won, but they are not all-powerful.”

Congress eyes reform

The National Emergencies Act was originally enacted as a way to set guardrails on presidents’ emergency powers. Through the law, Congress gave itself a “legislative veto” that allowed it to end any national emergency on its own.

But the Supreme Court overturned that provision as unconstitutional in 1983, while other elements of the law have gone ignored by presidents and lawmakers alike.

Dayton, the Niskanen Center director, helped organize a letter in October urging Congress to rewrite the statute. It was signed by a broad ideological coalition that included the ACLU and fiscally conservative outside groups, with Lee’s ARTICLE ONE Act considered the basis for reform.

Under the bill, national emergencies end automatically after 30 days unless reauthorized by Congress.

But congressional leaders declined to take action in the last Congress after committees in the House and Senate approved similar legislation.