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The US Senate has rejected Donald Trump’s national emergency declaration in a major vote, setting the stage for the first veto of his presidency during another banner day of controversies plaguing the White House.
The Senate voted 59-41 to cancel Trump’s February proclamation of a border emergency, which he invoked to spend billions of dollars more on additional border barriers than Congress had approved.
Twelve Republicans joined Democrats in defying Mr Trump in a showdown many GOP senators had hoped to avoid because he commands die-hard loyalty from millions of conservative voters who could punish defecting lawmakers in next year’s elections.
The president has no reluctance to casting his first veto to advance his campaign exhortation, “Build the Wall,” which has prompted roars at countless rallies hosted by Mr Trump.
Approval votes in both the Senate and House fell short of the two-thirds majorities needed to override.
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“I look forward to VETOING the just passed Democrat inspired Resolution which would OPEN BORDERS while increasing Crime, Drugs, and Trafficking in our Country,” Mr Trump wrote on Thursday afternoon.
He added, “I thank all of the Strong Republicans who voted to support Border Security and our desperately needed WALL!”
Though Mr Trump seems sure to prevail in that battle, it remains noteworthy that lawmakers of both parties resisted him in a fight directly tied to his cherished campaign theme of erecting a border wall.
The roll call came just a day after the Senate took a step towards a veto fight with the president on another issue, voting to end U.S. support for the Saudi Arabian-led coalition’s war in Yemen.
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Additional reporting by AP. See The Independent’s live coverage from Thursday below.
We're learning more about the conservative backlash and White House lobbying efforts to get Republicans like Thom Tillis to flip their previously announced support for the resolution:
The Republican-run Senate rejected President Donald Trump’s declaration of a national emergency at the southwest border on Thursday, setting up a veto fight and dealing him a conspicuous rebuke as he tested how boldly he could ignore Congress in pursuit of his highest-profile goal.
The Senate voted 59-41 to cancel Trump’s February proclamation of a border emergency, which he invoked to spend $3.6 billion more for border barriers than Congress had approved.
Twelve Republicans joined Democrats in defying Trump in a showdown many GOP senators had hoped to avoid because he commands die-hard loyalty from millions of conservative voters who could punish defecting lawmakers in next year’s elections.
Donald Trump has followed up on his all-caps “VETO” tweet following the US Senate’s vote to rebuke his national emergency declaration for the US-Mexico border.
“I look forward to VETOING the just passed Democrat inspired Resolution which would OPEN BORDERS while increasing Crime, Drugs, and Trafficking in our Country,” Mr Trump wrote on Thursday afternoon.
He added, “I thank all of the Strong Republicans who voted to support Border Security and our desperately needed WALL!”
This concludes today's coverage from The Independent on the US Senate vote to rebuke Donald Trump's national emergency declaration, along with other controversies plaguing his White House. Read below for our live coverage as it happened.
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