Dear Mr. Trump,

You think you’ve solved the problem of the Trump shutdown by reopening the government for another three weeks and then threatening a second shutdown?

You obviously haven’t learned anything from your first Trump shutdown. You haven’t learned how you hurt federal workers and their families. You haven’t learned how you endangered lives, wrecked businesses, put a damper on the economy. You haven’t learned that the Democrats will not negotiate with an unconstitutional gun held at its head.

Nor is your threat to exercise “emergency” powers legitimate; it would be unconstitutional and unenforceable.

If you don’t understand, I guess you need a refresher course in the Constitution.

I will put it simply: You can’t steal money from one government coffer and put it in another toward a use that Congress hasn’t approved.

In other words, the power to spend the taxpayers’ money requires legislation. “All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States …” Art. I, Section 1. This means what it says. If you want money for a wall, you need to convince Congress to pass providing the funds for such a law, not threaten Congress into caving in to your demands or going around Congress.

So, if Congress doesn’t send you the law you want, you lost. Walk away. Bring it up some other day.

And, by the way, this is probably a good time start your memoirs. You’ll have a lot of time on your hands soon, between shifts on the line for stamping out license plates.

Very truly yours,

Bruce J. Berger