The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday failed in its attempt to override President Donald Trump’s first veto, leaving President Trump’s national emergency declaration in place for the time being. President Trump declared a national emergency on February 15 to build a U.S.-Mexico border wall that Congress had not funded.
President Trump wishes to use the declaration to secure $3.6 billion of the $8 billion total he wants to put toward barriers on the border. The funds would come from the Defense Department’s military construction budget. The President also requested $8.6 billion for border wall construction in his fiscal 2020 budget, which could spark another standoff with Democrats over his signature campaign promise.
The U.S. House fell short of the two-thirds majority needed to overcome President Trump’s opposition to a resolution that would end executive action. Democrats, who control the House, did not attract enough Republican support, falling some three dozen votes short of the two-thirds majority vote needed to overturn Trump’s veto.
Only 14 Republicans joined 234 Democrats in voting to override, one more Republican than had bucked Trump in a previous House vote on the border wall emergency. One Democrat and two Republicans did not vote.
With the 248-181 tally, Trump is now likely to continue to move to secure money for the proposed border wall, which he says is needed to curb illegal immigration and drug trafficking.
However, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Democratic Representative Joaquin Castro, author of the resolution to overturn Trump’s move, said lawmakers would keep trying to block him through the regular congressional process of appropriating funds, as well as reviewing his emergency declaration again six months from now.
“The President’s lawless emergency declaration clearly violates the Congress’ exclusive power of the purse, and Congress will work through the appropriations and defense authorization processes to terminate dangerous actions and restore our constitutional system of balance of powers, Pelosi and Castro said following the vote.
The battle over Trump’s emergency declaration also shifts to the courts, with various legal challenges already underway that could slow Trump’s building plans for some time. A coalition of 16 states sued in federal court in February to stop Trump’s border wall emergency and another four states joined the lawsuit this month.
