The Latest: Schumer says Trump is trying to 'bend the law'
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump and his national emergency declaration(all times local):
6:30 p.m.
The House has voted to block President Donald Trump’s emergency declaration, a measure intended get him billions of extra dollars to build his border wall.
Democrats pushed the measure through the chamber by 245-182, with 13 Republicans joining them.
Passage by the GOP-led Senate seems possible next month. At least four Republican senators may back the Democrats’ resolution.
Trump has formally issued his veto threat. Congress seems unlikely to amass the two-thirds majorities needed to override the veto, which would be his first. The battle makes GOP lawmakers choose between backing Trump and defending Congress’ control over spending.
Trump says there’s a border crisis and he needs more than the $1.4 billion Congress provided for barrier construction. Democrats say there’s no crisis and Trump is trying to work around Congress.
__
3:05 p.m.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says he can’t say whether the Republican-controlled Senate will approve a resolution to block President Donald Trump’s emergency declaration on immigration.
The Kentucky Republican told reporters he “couldn’t handicap” the outcome of the vote.
Three Republican senators — Susan Collins of Maine, Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska — have said they will vote against Trump. If one more Republican joins them, the resolution disapproving of Trump’s order would likely pass. The president has said he would veto the measure.
McConnell said Republicans had a “fulsome” discussion about Trump’s order at their private lunch Tuesday, which was attended by Vice President Mike Pence and a Justice Department lawyer.
The House is expected to pass its resolution disapproving of Trump’s order on Tuesday afternoon.
__
12:55 p.m.
Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski says she will vote to terminate President Donald Trump’s emergency declaration on border security.
The Alaska senator told reporters on Tuesday that Trump’s declaration to unlock billions of dollars beyond what Congress has approved crosses a constitutional line giving Congress decisions on federal spending.
Murkowski said that Trump is “overstepping into the legislative prerogative.” She added, “I’m going to be voting yes on the resolution of disapproval.”
Murkowski’s vote means only one more Senate Republican is needed to side with all the Democrats for the measure to pass and go to Trump, who is expected to veto it. The other two Republicans who have said they’ll vote to disapprove of Trump’s declaration are Sen. Susan Collins of Maine and Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina.
___
11:25 a.m.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer says President Donald Trump is trying to “bend the law” with his declaration of a national emergency on the southern border.
Schumer is calling on lawmakers to “speak up with one bipartisan voice” to put a check on the executive branch as the founding founders envisioned. He asked, “What would stop a future president from claiming an emergency every week?”
The House is expected Tuesday to pass a resolution to block Trump from redirecting billions of military dollars toward construction of a fence along the U.S.-Mexico border. The Senate could pass the resolution as well.
Even if Congress votes to terminate the president’s emergency declaration, Trump is likely to veto the measure. It is doubtful that Congress could muster the votes to override him.
___
11:20 a.m.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says opposition to President Donald Trump’s emergency declaration isn’t about politics, but about protecting the country from executive overreach.
Pelosi was speaking Tuesday at the American Legion’s annual conference. She said Trump’s action “steals billions of dollars” from the military construction projects— including possibly family housing and child care centers — to build the wall with Mexico.
She says if there was a true emergency at the border, Congress would provide funding.
But Pelosi says Trump’s action undermines the separation of powers by tapping money Congress already allocated to other projects.
“It’s not about politics,” Pelosi said. “It’s about patriotism.”
The House is voting Tuesday to terminate Trump’s action, with Senate to follow. But the president is expected to veto the measure.
___
12:20 a.m.
Democrats are moving quickly to try to roll back President Donald Trump’s declaration of a national emergency to siphon billions of dollars from the military to fund construction of a fence along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Tuesday’s vote in the Democratic-controlled House comes on legislation to revoke Trump’s executive order from earlier this month and would send it to the Republican-held Senate, where it would take only a handful of GOP defections to pass it.
Trump is likely to prevail in the end since he could use his first-ever veto to kill the measure if it passes Congress, but the White House is seeking to minimize defections among the president’s GOP allies to avoid embarrassment.
The Western Journal has not reviewed this Associated Press story prior to publication. Therefore, it may contain editorial bias or may in some other way not meet our normal editorial standards. It is provided to our readers as a service from The Western Journal.
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
