House Of Representatives Fails To Override Donald Trump’s Veto On Border Wall National Emergency

On Tuesday, the House was unsuccessful in its bid to override President Donald Trump‘s first veto. It was a 248-181 vote in favor of overriding Trump’s veto, and as the chamber requires a two-thirds majority to do so, the effort fell short by approximately 50 votes.

Democrats have been critical of Trump’s declaration, claiming it’s an abuse of his power. “I’m convinced that the president’s actions are unlawful and deeply irresponsible. A core foundation of our system of government and of democracies across the world going back hundreds of years is that the executive cannot unilaterally spend taxpayer money without the legislature’s consent,” House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) said before the vote.

“The president shredded that concept when he declared an emergency after he failed to get his way in a budget negotiation. And as he often does, he announced his intention to ignore Congress in plain sight for all the world to see.”

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Only 14 Republicans voted in favor of overruling Trump’s veto, meaning the majority of the party backed Trump. “The men and women who put their lives on the line every single day to secure our borders deserve all the tools they need to do the job, including a border wall,” Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.) claimed amid the debate. “Through President Trump’s proclamation and his veto of House Joint Resolution 4, he’s acting decisively to finally address this crisis under the authority provided to him by Congress.”

Nevertheless, dissenting conservatives were disquiet over Trump’s executive action, raising concerns for the economic and Constitutional logistics of his emergency. “We all agree with the need for border security, so I want to be clear on that, but we need to separate out the need for border security with how we get there. And there are constitutional concerns here,” Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) said in an interview with CNN before the vote.

After the House’s vote concluded in Trump’s favor, the Commander in Chief took to Twitter to thank those in his party who stood with him:

Thank you to the House Republicans for sticking together and the BIG WIN today on the Border. Today’s vote simply reaffirms Congressional Democrats are the party of Open Borders, Drugs and Crime!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 26, 2019

Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chairman Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) jointly released a statement after the vote concluded outlining their plan to challenge Trump’s declaration:

“The President’s lawless emergency declaration clearly violates the Congress’s exclusive power of the purse, and Congress will work through the appropriations and defense authorization processes to terminate this dangerous action and restore our constitutional system of balance of powers. In six months, the Congress will have another opportunity to put a stop to this President’s wrongdoing. We will continue to review all options to protect our Constitution and our Democracy from the President’s assault.”