House Upholds Trump National Emergency, Veto Override Fails

EL PASO, TEXAS - FEBRUARY 11: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a rally at the El
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The House failed on Tuesday to override President Donald Trump’s veto of a resolution that would terminate his national emergency declaration to build a wall along the southern border.

The House failed to override Trump’s national emergency, 248-181, with strong Democrat support for the bill and few Republican defectors.

According to reports, some of the House Republicans voting for the national emergency resolution include Reps. Justin Amash (R-MI), Greg Walden (R-OR), and Thomas Massie (R-KY).

President Trump vetoed a bill that would end his national emergency on March 15, meaning that Democrats would need a two-thirds majority to override the president’s veto. The Democrats’ failure to pass the bill through Congress means that the battle over Trump’s national emergency will likely move to the courts.

“Today, I am vetoing this resolution,” Trump said when he vetoed the legislation. “Congress has the freedom to pass this resolution, and I have the duty to veto it. And I’m very proud to veto it.”

The House passed its the version of the legislation with the help of 13 Republicans and passed through the Senate with the help of 12 Republicans.

Many Republicans have said they oppose any form of executive overreach, which includes former President Barack Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) illegal alien amnesty.

However, one federal district judge ruled in August 2018 that DACA was illegal, whereas many lawyers have argued that Trump has the authority under the National Emergencies Act of 1976 to reappropriate money to build the wall.

The House vote comes as a Morning Consult/Politico poll suggests that nearly three-quarters of Republican voters would more likely vote for a candidate if they backed Trump’s national emergency on the border.

Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL), one of the leading voices on pro-American immigration reform, issued a statement on Tuesday reiterating his support for Trump’s national emergency.

Brooks said Tuesday:

I wish Congress cared about protecting American lives as much as President Trump does. I fully support President Trump’s border security national emergency declaration, and I will vote today to sustain President Trump’s veto of the open-borders emergency declaration disapproval bill.

“I sincerely hope today’s vote falls short of the 2/3rds majority necessary to override President Trump’s veto. If not, more American will die due to our porous southern border,” Brooks added.

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