Trump Border Emergency Survives as Senate Veto Override Fails
Trump Border Emergency Survives as Senate Veto Override Fails
(Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Senate for the second time failed to block President Donald Trump’s national emergency declaration diverting taxpayer money for his wall at the southern border, as most Republicans continued to side with his effort.
The 53-36 vote Thursday was short of the two-thirds margin needed to override the president’s veto, meaning his emergency declaration will survive. Democrats and some Republicans say Trump is trampling Congress’s power over spending and is diverting billions of dollars from military needs to construct the wall he promised supporters in the 2016 campaign.
Ten Republicans joined 43 Democrats to support the resolution, S.J.Res. 54, that sought to override Trump’s Oct. 15 veto. Among the Republicans voting to override were Roy Blunt of Missouri, Rob Portman of Ohio, Marco Rubio of Florida and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania.
Trump announced the emergency in February after a 35-day government shutdown over his demands for border wall funding. Congress agreed to provide only $1.4 billion for 55 miles of new construction, far short of the $5.7 billion the president said he needed.
The Senate and House voted to reject the declaration in March and again in September, but Trump vetoed the resolutions each time and there isn’t enough backing in either chamber to override his veto.
Senate Democrats have little clout to set the chamber’s agenda, but they were able to force the vote under a law that allows a disapproval vote on any presidential emergency declaration.
To contact the reporter on this story: Laura Litvan in Washington at llitvan@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Joe Sobczyk at jsobczyk@bloomberg.net, Laurie Asséo
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