On March 15 Donald Trump used the first veto of his Presidency to block a resolution rejecting his declaration of a national emergency at the border with Mexico.
The resolution passed the Senate on March 14 by a vote of 59-41, with 12 Republicans voting against the President’s decision. This is the first time that Congress has voted to terminate a President’s declaration of a national emergency.
” I look forward to VETOING the just passed Democrat inspired Resolution which would OPEN BORDERS while increasing Crime, Drugs, and Trafficking in our Country” the President tweeted, following the vote in the Senate. “I thank all of the Strong Republicans who voted to support Border Security and our desperately needed WALL!”
“The House and Senate resoundingly rejected the President’s lawless power grab, yet the President has chosen to continue to defy the Constitution, the Congress and the will of the American people,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in a statement.
Donald Trump’s use of a Presidential veto is the 2,575th Presidential veto in history, with 111 of these vetoes having been overridden in the past. The Presidential veto power has been used by 38 of the 45 Presidents, including by every President since James A. Garfield in 1881. Of recent Presidents, President Obama used his Presidential veto 12 times, George W. Bush 12 times, Bill Clinton 37, George H. W. Bush 44 and Ronald Reagan 78.
This isn’t the only challenge the White House is seeing related to the emergency declaration. Three days after the declaration a group of 16 states filed a challenge[PDF] in the District Court for the Northern District of California claiming, among other grievances, that their states would be harmed“by the diversion of funds” allowed as a result of the proclamation.
While the complaint also cites the possible environmental impact to states along the US-Mexico border, a number of other organizations, such as the ACLU on behalf of the Sierra Club, have also challenged the proclamation in federal courts over this stating their concern that “Construction of President Trump’s Wall Will Have Devastating Effects on the Environment”.
The resolution is expected to return to the House on March 26. Both the Senate and the House would need a two thirds majority to override the veto- equivalent to 67 votes in the Senate, and 290 votes in the House of Representatives.