Congress Moves to End Trump’s Border Emergency Declaration, Prompting Another Veto Fight

The House of Representatives voted 236-174 on Friday to terminate the border security emergency (S.J.Res. 54) declared by President Donald Trump, sending the bill to the president’s desk where it will be vetoed. After that, the disapproval resolution will return to the Senate ― where it initially passed 54-41 on Wednesday ― for an attempt to override Trump’s veto that would require a two-thirds majority.

If all this sounds familiar, that’s because Congress went through this process back earlier this year. The House passed an identical termination resolution (H.J.Res. 46) on February 26th with a 245-182 vote, the Senate passed its bill 59-41 on March 14th, and it was vetoed by the president the next day. Had it been enacted, the bill would've brought an end to the emergency the president has used to facilitate the transfer of funds to border security efforts.

Vetoed bills return to their chamber of origin for the first vote and have to pass both chambers of Congress with a two-thirds majority, which the House was unable to muster in a 248-181 vote on March 26th, so the veto was sustained. 

All bills were supported unanimously by Democrats, who have been joined by a group of Republicans that has remained consistent throughout the series of votes when accounting for absences and Rep. Justin Amash (I-MI) leaving the GOP. Beyond an override vote later this fall in the Senate, lawmakers from both sides of the aisle will likely have a few more chances to vote on Trump’s border emergency declaration in the spring and next fall before the 116th Congress adjourns.

Under the National Emergencies Act, Congress can use expedited procedures to vote every six months on the termination of an ongoing national emergency declared by the president. Emergency termination legislation has privileged status: it is either reported by committee within 15 days or its automatically discharged and sent to the floor, where a vote must be held within three days after that.

— Eric Revell

(Photo Credit: Customs & Border Protection photo by Mani Albrecht via Flickr / Public Domain)