US House approves measure rejecting Trump’s border wall emergency

WASHINGTON — In a stinging rebuke to President Donald Trump, the House of Representatives on Tuesday brushed aside veto threats and passed legislation to terminate the emergency he declared at the US-Mexico border in order to build a wall there.

By a vote of 245-182, the House passed the resolution, setting up a vote in the Republican-controlled Senate where the resolution’s chances were slimmer, but seemed to be improving.

While passage was a victory for Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the tally was short of what she would likely need to override a possible veto by Republican Mr. Trump. Only 13 Republicans supported the move to stop the president’s declaration.

During floor debate, Democratic Representative Joaquin Castro, the main sponsor of the controversial legislation, said, “There is no emergency at the border,” adding, “Border crossings are at a four-decades low.”

Democrats and some Republicans worry that with the emergency declaration unilaterally funding his border wall without lawmakers’ approval, Mr. Trump was presenting a dangerous challenge to the constitutional balance of powers between Congress and the executive branch.

Hours before the House vote, Republican Senator John Barrasso told MSNBC in an interview that the legislation “may actually pass the Senate.”

Following a closed meeting of Republican senators and VicePresident Mike Pence, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell refused to predict the outcome, including whether senators could override a Trump veto.

Writing on Twitter on Monday, Mr. Trump, who says the wall is needed to stop illegal immigration and drugs, warned Republicans not to “fall into the Democrats ‘trap’ of Open Borders and Crime!” —