Senators vote again to end border emergency

WASHING TON» The Senate voted for the second time Wednesday to overturn President Donald Trump’s declaration of a national emergency at the southern border, once again falling well short of a veto-proof majority needed to block the money.

The 54-41 vote was similar to the outcome in March, the first time the Senate voted on the disapproval resolution. Eleven Republicans sided with Democrats on Wednesday to support the measure, which required a simple majority to pass.

Colorado Republican Sen. Cory Gardner voted against the resolution.

The resolution still must clear the House before being sent to Trump. He vetoed a similar measure several months ago.

Senators had important new information as they cast their votes Wednesday — although it didn’t change the result.

When senators last voted on the issue, the Pentagon had not released a list of the $3.6 billion in military construction projects that were being canceled to pay for Trump’s border barrier.

That list was released this month, and senators have a list of the specific projects in their states that are being scrapped to free up funding for Trump’s wall.

That dynamic created new pressure for GOP senators, especially those up for reelection in 2020, to weigh their allegiance to Trump and his border wall against their support for much-needed projects at military bases and installations back home.

“If Republicans choose to stand with President Trump, they’ll be saying they fully support allowing the president to take money from our military to fund a border wall,” Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said ahead of the vote.

Such arguments failed to sway GOP senators who voted for Trump’s emergency declaration the first time around, and no one changed their vote Wednesday.

“How would I square voting differently?” Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, asked reporters Tuesday.

Cornyn is up for re-election, and his state is losing some $38.5 million in funds for projects in El Paso and San Antonio.

The list of military construction projects being canceled, which includes 41 projects in 23 states, ranges from upgrading a middle school at Ft. Campbell in Kentucky to building a shooting range at a base in Mississippi.

In Colorado, where Gardner faces reelection in a competitive state, an $8 million project to create a Space Control Facility at Peterson Air Force Base has been canceled.