Four Republicans have said they will vote to terminate President Donald Trump’s national emergency declaration to fund his wall, setting the stage of Trump’s first veto in office.
Republican Sens. Susan Collins, Thom Tillis, Lisa Murkowski, and Rand Paul have all said they will vote with Democrats to terminate the national emergency Trump declared last month to fund his border wall.
That means there are now 51 votes in favor of the bill with several other Republicans mulling their options.
Though the vote is expected to pass after it was already approved by House Democrats, Trump is expected to veto the legislation. It does not appear there are enough Republican votes to override such a veto. Two-thirds of the members in both the House and Senate must vote to override a veto.
Paul was the latest Republican to buck the president.
“We may want more money for border security, but Congress didn’t authorize it. If we take away those checks and balances, it’s a dangerous thing,” he said at a speech Sunday.
Other Republicans on the fence:
Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander has been among the most outspoken Republicans about the declaration, though he has not said he would vote to end it.
“I want to make a respectful suggestion, and that is this: that President Trump ask his lawyers to take a second look at an existing funding authority that the president has to consider construction of the 234 miles of border wall that do not require a formal declaration of a national emergency,” Alexander said on the Senate floor last week.
Sen. Roger Wicker (Mississippi), Marco Rubio (Florida), Mitt Romney (Utah), Jerry Moran (Kansas), Mike Lee (Utah), and Cory Gardner (Colorado) have also criticized the idea of the national emergency but have not said whether they would vote to end it, Vox reported.
Trump threatens Republicans who vote against him:
Trump warned Republicans who vote with Democrats on the bill during an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity last week.
“I think that really it’s a very dangerous thing for people to be voting against border security,” Trump said. “I really think that Republicans that vote against border security and the wall, I think you know, I’ve been okay at predicting things, I think they put themselves at great jeopardy.”
Collins responded to Trump’s remarks by noting that she is more concerned about the precedent a national emergency would set.
“I support the president’s goal on strengthening the border. But that’s not what this is about,” Collins told reporters. “This is about whether the president can repurpose billions of dollars that Congress has appropriated for other purposes, and he has signed into law, and then ignore that and use the money for another purpose.”
