Trump vows veto as Democrats try to block emergency order

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

Democrats controlling the House have teed up a vote next week to block President Donald Trump from using a national emergency declaration to fund a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, accelerating a showdown in Congress that could divide Republicans and lead to Trump’s first veto.

The Democrats introduced a resolution Friday to block Trump’s declaration, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the House would vote on the measure Tuesday. It is sure to pass, and the GOP-run Senate may adopt it as well. Trump quickly promised a veto.

“Will I veto it? 100 percent,” Trump told reporters.

Any Trump veto would likely be sustained, but the upcoming battle will test Republican support for the president’s move, which even some of his allies view as a stretch – and a slap at lawmakers’ control over the power of the federal purse.

Pelosi, D-Calif., said she’d honor her oath of office and uphold the Constitution, adding, “I wish he would have the same dedication to that oath of office himself.” Speaking to reporters in Laredo, Texas, she said, “This is a path I would not recommend he go down. I don’t expect him to sign it, but I do expect us to send it” to him.

House GOP leaders will urge rank-and-file Republicans on Monday to oppose the measure, Republican aides said. If all Democrats and at least 55 Republicans vote for it, it would pass by a veto-proof margin – a two-thirds majority. The aides spoke on condition of anonymity to describe leaders’ plans.

“What the president is attempting is an unconstitutional power grab,” said Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, the sponsor of the resolution, on a call with reporters. “There is no emergency at the border.”

Trump’s declaration of a national emergency gives him access to about $3.6 billion in funding for military construction projects to divert to border fencing. But the administration is more likely to tap funding from a federal asset forfeiture fund and Defense Department anti-drug efforts first.

Republican U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski says she is likely to support a resolution of disapproval over Trump’s declaration of a national emergency to secure more money for a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.

In an audio recording provided by an aide late Friday, Murkowski noted concerns she has raised about the precedent that could be set if the declaration stands.

Murkowski says she wants to make sure the resolution is exactly what she thinks it is, because if it is what she understands it to be, she will likely support it.