House Republican leaders are staunchly backing President Donald Trump’s declaration of a national emergency ahead of a possible vote to rebuke the action.
“We will uphold him,” House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy declared. House Minority Whip Steve Scalise similarly declared that “ultimately we are going to stand with president to make sure we can secure border.”
.@GOPLeader on national emergency: “The president has the authority to do it and we will uphold him.” pic.twitter.com/a8wosqNCMF
— CSPAN (@cspan) February 26, 2019
McCarthy and Scalise’s statements come hours ahead of a Democratic push to vote on a disapproval resolution on Trump’s national emergency declaration. The measure is expected to pass the House of Representatives with Democratic support. Only one GOP congressman has publicly said he will vote for the resolution, libertarian Justin Amash, a Republican from Michigan.
The same congressional Republicans who joined me in blasting Pres. Obama’s executive overreach now cry out for a king to usurp legislative powers. If your faithfulness to the Constitution depends on which party controls the White House, then you are not faithful to it.
— Justin Amash (@justinamash) February 23, 2019
Trump issued a plea to Republican members of Congress to support his national emergency declaration while en route to Hanoi, Vietnam for his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
I hope our great Republican Senators don’t get led down the path of weak and ineffective Border Security. Without strong Borders, we don’t have a Country – and the voters are on board with us. Be strong and smart, don’t fall into the Democrats “trap” of Open Borders and Crime!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 25, 2019
The disapproval resolution will then make its way to the U.S. Senate where two Republican senators have already said they will vote for it. Maine Sen. Susan Collins and North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis said they will join Democratic ranks to oppose the national emergency declaration on constitutional grounds.
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., questions Judge Brett Kavanaugh during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on his nomination be an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, U.S., September 27, 2018. Tom Williams/Pool via REUTERS
“There is no intellectual honesty in now turning around and arguing that there’s an imaginary asterisk attached to executive overreach — that it’s acceptable for my party but not thy party,” Tillis declared in a Washington Post op-ed. (RELATED: Trump Was Sued Over His National Emergency Declaration In Less Than Six Hours)
PRESS: Will you veto the resolution introduced today that would block your national emergency if it passes?
TRUMP IN OVAL: “On the wall? Will I veto it? 100 percent. 100 percent.
“And I don’t think it survives the veto.” pic.twitter.com/Mp7lj9YUlu
— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) February 22, 2019
Regardless of whether the measure does garner enough votes in the Senate, Trump declared intention to issue a veto. “Will I veto it? 100 percent,” he declared Friday.