President Donald Trump urged Republican senators not to vote in opposition of his national emergency to fund the border wall in a Monday tweet, calling such a move a Democratic “trap.”
Trump declared a national emergency earlier this month to circumvent Congress and reallocate billions of dollars toward border wall construction. Within a week, the House filed a resolution to block the emergency declaration.
With a Democratic House majority, the resolution is expected to quickly move to the Senate, where a vote must occur within 18 days. The resolution only needs a majority to pass, meaning an approval could slip by the GOP-controlled Senate if just a few Republicans join Democrats.
At least 11 Republican senators have expressed doubt or concern over Trump’s emergency declaration. Some say allowing the president to overpower Congress’s constitutional authority to allocate government funds in order to pursue a political goal could set an undesirable precedent.
Trump continued to argue Monday that his wall is necessary for strong border security, tweeting that a vote in opposition of his emergency declaration would lead to “weak and ineffective Border Security.”
I hope our great Republican Senators don’t get led down the path of weak and ineffective Border Security. Without strong Borders, we don’t have a Country – and the voters are on board with us. Be strong and smart, don’t fall into the Democrats “trap” of Open Borders and Crime!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 25, 2019
Trump claimed that “the voters are on board” with the wall, but a midterm analysis showed that outside Trump’s base, voters are actually opposed to a border wall, reports the New York Times. According to the data, more than half of voters in at least 30 states don’t support the wall.
The president also warned Republican senators not to “fall into the Democrats ‘trap’ of Open Borders and Crime,” but leading Democrats have repeatedly said they do not want open borders. While Democrats are not in favor of a border wall, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has said both parties agree on the need to “strengthen security at our ports of entry” and utilize new technology.
If both the House and the Senate pass the resolution blocking Trump’s national emergency declaration, the president will have the option to veto it. Should that happen, it’s unlikely Congress will have the votes to override a veto.
