Eleven Republicans voted with Senate Democrats Wednesday to nullify a resolution that would terminate President Donald Trump’s national emergency, which would eliminate Trump’s ability to fund the construction of a southern border wall.
Senate Democrats, along with eleven Republicans, voted to pass S.J. Res. 54, which would terminate Trump’s national emergency declaration on the southern border. The resolution was created by Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM) and co-sponsored by Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Susan Collins (R-ME).
Sen. Collins said on the Senate floor Wednesday before the vote that the bill is not about “whether you’re for or against a border wall.” The Maine senator, who is up for a tough reelection fight in 2020, claimed that she has “consistently supported” funding for physical barriers on the southern border.
However, Congress has failed to provide significant funding to help secure America’s southern border by building a border wall. With Congress’s failure to provide funding, President Trump declared a national emergency to build the border, which diverted military funding so that he could build a wall along the southern border.
The Republican senators who voted against Trump’s national emergency to build the wall include:
- Lamar Alexander (R-TN)
- Roy Blunt (R-MO)
- Susan Collins (R-ME)
- Mike Lee (R-UT)
- Jerry Moran (R-KS)
- Rand Paul (R-KY)
- Rob Portman (R-OH)
- Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)
- Mitt Romney (R-UT)
- Pat Toomey (R-PA)
- Roger Wicker (R-MS)
All of these Republicans voted in March to terminate the national emergency, and the resolution failed to override a veto-proof majority in the House after Trump vetoed the legislation.
Sen. Marco Rubio voted against the national emergency in March; however, on Wednesday, he did not vote to terminate the national emergency.
Although most of the Republican senators have signaled that they approve of building a wall, it remains to be seen how they will find an avenue to fund that wall without a national emergency declaration, given that Congress has failed to find a legislative solution to finance it.
Sean Moran is a congressional reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.