Presidents have declared emergencies 60 times since 1976 – but Trump's is unprecedented

WASHINGTON — Friday morning, President Donald Trump declared a national emergency at the nation's southern border. It was the 60th time a sitting president had used the National Emergencies Act since it was passed in 1976. However, he used the law in a way no other president has before.

The law was passed during President Jimmy Carter’s administration as an attempt to rein in the powers presidents can exercise by declaring an emergency. Carter was the first to utilize the new law in November 1979, when he declared an emergency to freeze assets of the government and Central Bank of Iran amid the Iran Hostage Crisis.

Since then - not counting Friday's latest announcement - presidents have declared 58 other national emergencies, 31 of which, including Carter’s sanctions on Iran, remain active to this day.

RELATED: Trump declares national emergency for border wall funding

Far and away the most common use of national emergencies has been to place sanctions on foreign individuals, groups and governments. Seventy-six percent of all national emergencies were declared to block property or prohibit trade. President Ronald Reagan used the law to impose sanctions on Nicaragua, Libya and South Africa, and his successor, President George H.W. Bush, declared national emergencies to issue sanctions on Iran and the Haitian military.

President Bill Clinton was the most prolific user of national emergencies. He declared 18 during his presidency, including emergencies to block new investments in Burma, to issue sanctions on the Taliban and, just days before he left office, to block the import of rough diamonds to the U.S. which were being used to fund the Revolutionary United Front during Sierra Leone’s civil war.

State of Emergency: Which Presidents Declared Emergency the Most?

On Thursday, Congress passed a funding bill to keep the government open and avoid another shutdown. White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders released a statement Thursday afternoon saying Trump intended to sign the bill, but that he also intended to take "other executive action, including a national emergency” to secure the southern border.

READ MORE: Congress OKs border deal; Trump will sign, declare emergency

When he did so Friday, Trump used the power of a national emergency declaration in a profoundly different way than his predecessors – as a means of appropriating money without the consent of Congress.

Sanctions, Sanctions, Sanctions: Presidents Use National Emergencies to Block Trade, Tie Up Funds

Trump campaigned heavily on the need for a wall spanning the southern border, and shut down the government for more than a month in a bid to extract $5.7 billion in funding for the wall from Congress. The shutdown ended with no additional appropriations for border security, and the funding bill passed by Congress Thursday contained only about $1.4 billion for border barriers.

Democrats, and some Republicans, have said they will oppose any attempts by Trump to use a national emergency to side-step Congress on wall funding. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) issued a joint statement Thursday afternoon calling any such attempt “a lawless act” and a gross abuse of the power of the presidency.

VERIFY: Yes, Congress could pass a joint resolution to repeal a national emergency declaration

Below, see each national emergency declared since 1976:

Jimmy Carter

• EO 12170 - Blocking Iranian Government Property (ACTIVE)
• EO 12211 - Further Prohibitions on Transactions with Iran (ENDED)

Ronald Reagan

• EO 12170 - Blocking Iranian Government Property (ACTIVE)
• EO 12211 - Further Prohibitions on Transactions with Iran (ENDED)
• EO 12444 - Continuation of Export Control Regulations (ENDED)
• EO 12470 - Continuation of Export Control Regulations (ENDED)
• EO 12513 - Prohibiting Trade and Certain Other Transactions Involving Nicaragua (ENDED)
• EO 12532 - Prohibiting Trade and Certain Other Transactions Involving South Africa (ENDED)
• EO 12543 - Prohibiting Trade and Certain Transactions Involving Libya (ENDED)
• EO 12635 - Prohibiting Certain Transactions with Respect to Panama (ENDED)

George H.W. Bush

• EO 12730 - Continuation of Export Control Regulations (ENDED)
• EO 12722 - Blocking Iraqi Government Property and Prohibiting Transactions with Iraq (ENDED)
• EO 12775 - Prohibiting Certain Transactions with Respect to Haiti (ENDED)
• EO 12808 - Blocking Yugoslav Government Property and Property of the Governments of Serbia and Montenegro (ENDED)
• EO 12735 - Chemical and Biological Weapons Proliferation (ENDED)

Bill Clinton

• EO 12923 - Continuation of Export Control Regulations (ENDED)
• EO 12924 - Continuation of Export Control Regulations (ENDED)
• Proclamation 6867 - Declaration of a National Emergency and Invocation of Emergency Authority Relating to the Regulation of the Anchorage and Movement of Vessels (ACTIVE)
• EO 12865 - Prohibiting Certain Transactions Involving UNITA (ENDED)
• EO 12914 - Prohibiting Certain Transactions with Respect to Haiti (ENDED)
• EO 12934 - Blocking Property and Additional Measures With Respect to the Bosnian Serb-Controlled Areas of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ENDED)
• EO 12947 - Prohibiting Transactions With Terrorists Who Threaten to Disrupt the Middle East Peace Process (ACTIVE)
• EO 12957 - Prohibiting Certain Transactions with Respect to the Development of Iranian Petroleum Resources (ACTIVE)
• EO 12978 - Blocking Assets and Prohibiting Transactions with Significant Narcotics Traffickers (ACTIVE)
• EO 13047 - Prohibiting New Investment in Burma (ENDED)
• EO 13067 - Blocking Sudanese Government Property and Prohibiting Transactions with Sudan (ACTIVE)
• EO 13088 - Blocking Property of the Governments of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, he Republic of Serbia, and the Republic of Montenegro, and Prohibiting New Investment in the Republic of Serbia in Response to the Situation in Kosovo (ENDED)
• EO 13129 - Blocking Property and Prohibiting Transactions with the Taliban (ENDED)
• EO 13159 - Blocking Property of the Government of the Russian Federation Relating to the Disposition of Highly Enriched Uranium Extracted from Nuclear Weapons (ENDED)
• EO 13194 - Prohibiting the Importation of Rough Diamonds from Sierra Leone (ENDED)
• EO 12868 - Measures to Restrict the Participation by United States Persons in Weapons Proliferation Activities (ENDED)
• EO 12930 - Measures to Restrict the Participation by United States Persons in Weapons Proliferation Activities (ENDED)
• EO 12938 - Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (ACTIVE)

George W. Bush

• EO 13303 - Protecting the Development Fund for Iraq and Certain Other Property in Which Iraq Has an Interest (ACTIVE)
• EO 13222 - Continuation of Export Control Regulations (ACTIVE)
• Proclamation 7463 - Declaration of National Emergency by Reason of Certain Terrorist Attacks (ACTIVE)
• EO 13219 - Blocking Property of Persons Who Threaten International Stabilization Efforts in the Western Balkans (ACTIVE)
• EO 13224 - Blocking Property and Prohibiting Transactions With Persons Who Commit, Threaten to Commit, or Support Terrorism (ACTIVE)
• EO 13288 - Blocking Property of Persons Undermining Democratic Processes or Institutions in Zimbabwe (ACTIVE)
• EO 13338 - Blocking Property of Certain Persons and Prohibiting the Export of Certain Goods to Syria (ACTIVE)
• EO 13348 - Blocking Property of Certain Persons and Prohibiting the Importation of Certain Goods from Liberia (ENDED)
• EO 13396 - Blocking Certain Property of Certain Persons Contributing to the Conflict in Côte d'Ivoire (ENDED)
• EO 13405 - Blocking Property of Certain Persons Undermining Democratic Processes or Institutions in Belarus (ACTIVE)
• EO 13413 - Blocking Property of Certain Persons Contributing to the Conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (ACTIVE)
• EO 13441 - Blocking Property of Persons Undermining the Sovereignty of Lebanon or Its Democratic Processes and Institutions (ACTIVE)
• EO 13466 - Continuing Certain Restrictions With Respect to North Korea and North Korean Nationals (ACTIVE)

Barack Obama

• Proclamation 8443 - Declaration of a National Emergency With Respect to the 2009 H1N1 Influenza Pandemic (ENDED)
• EO 13536 - Blocking Property of Certain Persons Contributing to the Conflict in Somalia (ACTIVE)
• EO 13566 - Blocking Property and Prohibiting Certain Transactions Related to Libya (ACTIVE)
• EO 13581 - Blocking Property of Transnational Criminal Organizations (ACTIVE)
• EO 13611 - Blocking Property of Persons Threatening the Peace, Security or Stability of Yemen (ACTIVE)
• EO 13617 - Blocking Property of the Government of the Russian Federation Relating to the Disposition of Highly Enriched Uranium Extracted from Nuclear Weapons (ACTIVE)
• EO 13611 - Blocking Property of Certain Persons Contributing to the Situation in Ukraine (ACTIVE)
• EO 13664 - Blocking Property of Certain Persons With Respect to South Sudan (ACTIVE)
• EO 13667 - Blocking Property of Certain Persons Contributing to the Conflict in the Central African Republic (ACTIVE)
• EO 13692 - Blocking Property and Suspending the Entry of Certain Persons Contributing to the Situation in Venezuela (ACTIVE)
• EO 13694 - Blocking the Property of Certain Persons Engaging in Significant Malicious Cyber-Enabled Activities (ACTIVE)
• EO 13712 - Blocking Property of Certain Persons Contributing to the Situation in Burundi (ACTIVE)

Donald Trump

• EO 13818 - Blocking the Property of Persons Involved in Serious Human Rights Abuse or Corruption (ACTIVE)
• EO 13848 - Imposing Certain Sanctions in the Event of Foreign Interference in a United States Election (ACTIVE)
• EO 13851 - Blocking Property of Certain Persons Contributing to the Situation in Nicaragua (ACTIVE)