Washington, Mar 15 (UNI) The US Senate passed a resolution on Thursday to overturn President Trump’s declaration of a national emergency at the US-Mexico border, setting the stage for the first veto of his presidency.
The measure passed with a 59-41 vote, but will now head to Trump's desk, where he is expected to veto it, The Washington post reported.
This is also the first time Congress acted against a national emergency declaration since the National Emergencies Act was enacted in 1976.
In Thursday's vote, 12 Republican Senators Senators broke ranks with Trump to vote in favor of the legislation, including Lamar Alexander, Roy Blunt, Susan Collins, Mike Lee, Jerry Moran, Lisa Murkowski, Rand Paul, Rob Portman, Mitt Romney, Marco Rubio, Pat Toomey and Roger Wicker.
Moment after the vote, Trump tweeted "VETO!"
A short while later he added, “I look forward to VETOING the just passed Democrat inspired Resolution which would OPEN BORDERS while increasing Crime, Drugs, and Trafficking in our Country. I thank all of the Strong Republicans who voted to support Border Security and our desperately needed WALL!”
Following such a move, the legislation would then return to Congress, where two-thirds of lawmakers from each chamber would have to vote in favor of the resolution to override Trump's veto.
On February 27, the House passed the resolution with a 245-182 vote.
Trump declared a national emergency last month to free up $8 billion in federal funding to build a wall on the southern border where the administration claims there is a humanitarian crisis. The president has said the border is needed to prevent criminals and terrorists from pouring into the United States.
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