House votes to block Trump border emergency

The US House of Representatives has voted to revoke President Donald Trump’s emergency declaration over building a US-Mexico border wall.

The bid to overturn the declaration now goes to the Republican-majority Senate, where some conservatives have said they will vote with Democrats.

Mr Trump, who declared the emergency after Congress refused funding for the wall, has said he will veto the bill.

The resolution passed the Democrat-led House by a margin of 245-182.

Thirteen Republicans sided with Democrats in rejecting Mr Trump’s national emergency, which suggests Congress would not have the two-thirds majority of both chambers needed to override a veto from the president.

Lawmakers are using a provision from the National Emergencies Act to overrule the president, but it requires both chambers to vote for it and to complete voting within 18 days.

The president has called the situation at the southern border a “crisis” and on 15 February, issued a declaration of emergency in order to bypass Congress and build a wall with military funding.

Democrats say the declaration is unconstitutional and that Mr Trump has manufactured the border emergency.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said on Monday: “This isn’t about the border. This is about the constitution of the United States. This is not about politics. It’s not about partisanship. It’s about patriotism.”

Source: BBC