House Fails to Override Trump’s Veto, Ensuring National Emergency Continues

Trump's national emergency allows him to reallocate government funds towards a border wall.

The House of Representatives fell short of the two-thirds majority needed to override President Donald Trump’s veto Tuesday, ensuring his national emergency to secure border wall funding continues.

Fourteen Republicans joined Democrats in voting for an override, the New York Times reports. This is one more than the number of Republican representatives who voted to block Trump’s national emergency originally, but dozens less than what was needed for the override to pass to the Senate.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi moved forward with the vote Tuesday, despite rumors it was likely to fail. According to CNN, the Democratic leader said last week that “whether we can succeed with the number of votes is not the point… We are establishing the intent of Congress.”

Both the House and the Republican-controlled Senate passed a resolution earlier this month to block Trump’s national emergency declaration. Many Republicans voiced support for Trump’s border wall, but were concerned over the precedent his declaration would set. Trump quickly vetoed the measure, the first veto of his presidency.

The national emergency declaration allows the president to reallocate government funds, meaning Trump can find the $8 billion he said is needed for a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. The Pentagon announced Tuesday that it plans to use $1 billion from its budget to build 57 miles of this border wall, a move quickly denounced by Democrats and celebrated by Trump supporters.

According to CNN, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said the Democrats plan to put forward a resolution denouncing the national emergency again in six months, as permitted by law.