House Fails To Override Trump Veto, Preserving National Emergency Order

The House on Tuesday failed to overturn President Trump’s first veto, leaving the declaration of a national emergency at the southwestern border intact despite bipartisan passage of a resolution nullifying the president’s circumvention of Congress to fund his border wall.

Despite concerns about the constitutional separation of powers and the impact of Mr. Trump’s move on local military projects, only 14 Republicans joined Democrats in voting to override the veto, one more Republican than the 13 who voted for the resolution of disapproval last month. The 248-181 vote fell short of the two-thirds majority needed to kill the national emergency declaration.

Republicans in both chambers had joined Democrats in passing the resolution just weeks ago, voicing discomfort over the president’s intent to divert funding to the construction of a border wall at the border without congressional approval.

The political fight over the national emergency declaration now turns to the courts, where a number of states and organizations have joined lawsuits challenging the legal merits of the order.