Trump vetoed as Democrats try to block the order of urgency

WASHINGTON – Democrats who control the House have scheduled a vote next week to prevent President Donald Trump from using a national emergency declaration to fund a wall along the US-Mexico border, accelerating the clash between Republicans and the first veto of Trump.

Democrats on Friday tabled a resolution to block Trump's statement, and Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi said the House would vote on the measure on Tuesday. It will surely pass, and the Senate, led by the GOP, will be able to pass it as well. Trump quickly promised a veto.

"Will I veto" 100%, "Trump told the White House press.

Any veto by Trump would probably be maintained, but the upcoming battle will test Republican support for the president's move, which even some of his allies see as a slump – and a slap against the legislator's control over the power of the federal portfolio.

Pelosi, D-Calif., Said she would honor her oath of office and uphold the Constitution, adding, "I would like him to have the same dedication to this oath of office." Office itself. " Addressing reporters in Laredo, Texas, she said: "It's a way I would not recommend that it go in. I'm not expecting it." He signs it, but I expect it to be sent to us.

Leaders of the House of Representatives will urge base Republicans on Monday to oppose the move, Republican advisers said. If all the Democrats and at least 55 Republicans vote for it, it would come with a margin of safety, a two-thirds majority. The assistants spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the leaders' plans.

A staff assistant introduced the measure during a brief pro forma session of the House in which Representative Don Beyer, D-Va., Presided over an almost empty room.

"What the president is trying to do, it's an unconstitutional coup," said Republic representative Joaquin Castro, sponsor of the resolution, when appealing to reporters. "There is no urgency at the border."

The declaration of a national emergency by Trump gives him access to funding of about $ 3.6 billion for military construction projects intended to be routed to border fences. But the administration is more likely to first mobilize funding for a federal asset forfeiture fund and the Department of Defense's drug control efforts.

The Trump edict is also challenged in federal courts, where many democratic states such as California are among those who have filed lawsuits to overturn Trump 's order. The house can also participate.

For the Democrats, the vote is another opportunity to challenge Trump's funding with a border wall, a question that has been at the center of the government's closure for 35 days. It also puts some Republicans from wavering districts and states in a difficult situation, as many have expressed doubts about Trump's action despite their support for his border security program.

If the House and Senate initially approve the measure, the Congress does not seem likely to bring together the two-thirds majorities in each room that would be needed later to cancel a Trump veto.

Republicans who oppose the emergency declaration in the first vote could switch and rally behind a Trump veto. But an initial call with a large number of Republicans challenging him would be an embarrassing display of GOP fractures.

The measure to block Trump's edict will be closely watched in the Senate, where moderates such as Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., Have indicated that they would support her. . Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Is only a reluctant supporter of Trump on the subject.

Trump's allies have pledged that they would maintain any veto opposing the Democrats two-thirds of the votes needed to defeat one.

"The concern of the Democrats about Congressional congressional power is unjustified, especially since the power of the Commander-in-Chief to redirect military funds for a national emergency is asserted in a law enacted by his own party. branch, "said Republican Doug Collins, Georgia Republican.

The battle is over for an emergency declaration issued by Trump to access billions of dollars going beyond what Congress has authorized to start erecting border barriers. Building his proposed wall was the most visible mark of Trump's presidential campaign.

Last week, Congress approved a massive $ 1.4-billion spending bill to build 89 km of border gates in the Rio Grande Valley, Texas, while preventing a new government shutdown. . Trump had asked for $ 5.7 billion for the construction of more than 200 miles (322 kilometers).

Trump wants to use an emergency declaration and other authorities to gain access to an additional $ 6.6 billion for the construction of walls. This money would be transferred from a federal asset confiscation fund, anti-drug efforts of the Department of Defense and a military construction fund. Federal officials have not yet determined which projects would be affected.

Two senior defense officials said on Friday that the Pentagon would take months to assess a still-pending proposal by the Department of Homeland Security to siphon anti-drug funds to create barriers, sign contracts and start construction. The officials requested anonymity to provide information that has not yet been made public.

Castro, the sponsor of the resolution, said he had already garnered the support of most MPs and that he had at least one GOP sponsor, Michigan representative Justin Amash.

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Editors Associate Press Nomaan Merchant in Houston and Lolita C. Baldor and Alan Fram in Washington contributed to this report.