The House on Friday voted to terminate President Trump’s declaration of a national emergency at the southern border, rebuking the president on the issue for a second time this year, but again falling short of the margin needed to override another expected veto.
The resolution, approved by the Senate on Wednesday, passed the House 236 to 174, with 11 Republicans and one independent joining all Democrats in supporting the measure. It would block the president from bypassing Congress and shifting Pentagon funds for construction of barriers along the border. Democrats say that Trump is undermining national security priorities to build an expensive and ineffective wall. Republicans counter that Democrats forced Trump to act by refusing to fund his border security priorities.
Congress passed the same measure earlier this year, but Trump vetoed it in March and the House failed to override his veto. Since that vote, the Pentagon put out a list of the $3.6 billion worth of military projects that were being canceled or put on hold as a result of Trump’s shifting of funds. That added some pressure on lawmakers who back Trump’s declaration even as their districts lose money because of it, but it failed to make much difference in the vote tallies.
Under the national emergencies law, Congress can bring up a vote on Trump’s declaration every six months.
