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Bill Blocking Trump's National Emergency to Fund Border Wall Advances in House

27 February 2019 04:00 (UTC +04:00)

The US House of Representatives voted 245 to 182 on Tuesday to revoke US President Donald Trump's emergency declaration that would enable him to build a wall on the US-Mexico border without Congressional approval. The measure now heads to the US Senate for consideration, APA reports quoting Sputnik.

The vote came hours after lawmakers in the House of Representatives decided to initially weigh the question of whether or not to overturn US President Donald Trump's emergency declaration earlier Tuesday, voting 229 to 193 to move the final debate on the issue.

Trump has claimed that by declaring a national emergency, he can appropriate funds for the wall's construction.

With the US house passing the measure, the Senate must now consider the resolution in the next 18 days, where Republicans enjoy a four-senator majority. However, even if the Senate passed it, too, it's certain the president would veto it, and neither house has the two-thirds majority required to override his veto.

"This isn't about the border," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Monday,"this is about the Constitution.

"There is a national emergency at the southern border that the Democrats will declare today doesn't exist," House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said Tuesday. "The president has the authority to do it, and we will uphold him."