Trump uses his first veto to maintain the border emergency declaration.
Rebuke over wall declaration was symbolic; overturn of the president’s action is unlikely
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump issued the first veto of his presidency Friday to secure federal money for a border wall he promised as a candidate and considers a crucial priority for re-election, capping a week of confrontation with both political parties.
“Today I am vetoing this resolution. Congress has the freedom to pass this resolution, and I have the duty to veto it,” Trump said.
Twelve Republicans had joined Democrats to challenge Trump over his declaration of a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border, which would allow the president to circumvent Congress and spend billions on wall construction.
The rare rebuke from members of his own party was symbolically important, but Congress does not have the votes to overturn Trump’s veto.
“I’d like to thank all of the Great Republican Senators who bravely voted for Strong Border Security and the WALL,” Trump tweeted ahead of his veto action. “This will help stop Crime, Human Trafficking, and Drugs entering our Country. Watch, when you get back to your State, they will LOVE you more than ever before!”
Moments after the Senate voted 59-41 to disapprove his emergency declaration on Thursday, Trump gave his one-word response: “VETO!”
Most Republicans who defected did so as a protest vote over the president’s methods and their fear about the precedent of executive overreach rather than the underlying debate over whether a border wall is necessary. Democrats and some Republicans challenged the declaration as a blow to the separation of powers.
Trump had sought to frame the debate in terms of immigration, arguing that Republican senators who supported border security should back him on the emergency declaration.
Trump also has maintained he has the legal authority to act.
A Justice Department letter to congressional leaders details the arguments defending the Trump’s emergency declaration, arguing that the president was authorized to do so by the National Emergencies Act of 1976.
“The president acted well within his discretion in declaring a national emergency concerning the southern border,” the Justice Department argues in the letter, a copy of which was reviewed by the Washington Post.
The letter, which draws much of its reasoning from analysis done by the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, points to various crises for which past presidents have declared emergencies under the law.
In challenging Trump on Thursday, only one Republican who is up for re-election next year — Susan Collins of Maine — voted for the disapproval resolution.
In addition to Collins, the other GOP senators voting for the resolution were Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, Roy Blunt of Missouri, Mike Lee of Utah, Jerry Moran of Kansas, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Rand Paul of Kentucky, Mitt Romney of Utah, Marco Rubio of Florida, Patrick Toomey of Pennsylvania, Rob Portman of Ohio and Roger Wicker of Mississippi.
The vote came a day after the Senate called for an end to U.S. military support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen, marking the second instance in two days that the Senate took a position against the president.