Twelve Republican senators broke with President Trump Thursday to disapprove of the national emergency declaration that would let him divert unobligated but appropriated military construction funding and other money to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.
The House-passed resolution cleared the Senate 59-41.
Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) said he supports Trump on border security but not defying the founders’ ideals that Congress controls spending.
“[H]is declaration to take an additional $3.6 billion that Congress has appropriated for military hospitals, barracks and schools is inconsistent with the U.S. Constitution that I swore an oath to support and defend,” Alexander said in a statement.
Besides Alexander, the Republicans voting for the disapproval resolution were Sens. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), Susan Collins (Maine), Mike Lee (Utah), Jerry Moran (Kan.), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Rand Paul (Ky.), Rob Portman (Ohio), Mitt Romney (Utah), Marco Rubio (Fla.), Pat Toomey (Penn.) and Roger Wicker (Miss.).
There doesn’t seem to be enough votes in either chamber to override a veto, which President Trump promised again in a one-word tweet Thursday after the vote.
Courts have yet to take action on a host of lawsuits filed against the declaration.
Senator Roger Wicker at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., in 2017. U.S. Air Force photo by Kemberly Groue
Snap of the Week
Naval Academy plebes climb the Herndon Monument, a tradition symbolizing the successful completion of the midshipmen’s freshman year. The class of 2027 completed the climb in 2 hours, 19 minutes and 11 seconds. Navy photo by Stacy Godfrey
