The House of Representatives voted again Friday to block the border wall that President Donald Trump remains adamant about funding and building.
The president had declared a national emergency in order to move forward legislation to build the wall. The House has sent its legislation to Trump — who is expected to use his presidential veto against it, Politico reported.
President Donald Trump speaks to the media at the United Nations (U.N.) General Assembly on Sept. 24, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
House Democrats were not alone in their efforts to stop construction of the border wall with 11 Republican representatives and one independent congressman voting with the majority. Facing House opposition to the Wall, Trump decided to use Department of Defense funds towards that purpose by making the project a national emergency. (RELATED: Trump Open To Using Emergency Powers To Build Wall)
Since losing a similar vote in February on funding the wall, the Trump administration has carefully noted which congressional districts will lose out on construction funding if the project does not proceed as scheduled. Some of those constituencies are held by Republicans.
“The president’s decision to cancel $3.6 billion for military construction to pay for his wasteful wall makes America less safe,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told representatives Friday, accusing the president of “stooping so low as to steal from a middle school in Fort Campbell, Kentucky.” (RELATED: Renegade Republicans Could Sink Trump’s National Emergency Declaration)
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) speaks to the media after a meeting with the House Democratic caucus one day after she announced that House Democrats will start an impeachment injury of U.S. President Donald Trump, on Sept. 25, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
The Republican-controlled Senate has also moved to block military funding for the wall, with 11 Republicans voting with their Democratic opponents earlier this week.
Although Congress was able to block Trump’s national emergency declaration in the spring, it did not have sufficient votes to override the presidential veto. If, as anticipated, Trump again vetoes the legislation, it will be the sixth occasion that he has used the mechanism to block Congress.
Trump has managed to pry $8 billion from various government agencies to fund the wall. He announced in February that he planned to sign a bipartisan congressional bill to increase the funding reservoir.