Friday, March 29, 2024

Which Republicans Voted Against National Emergency

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Washington Rep Cathy Mcmorris Rodgers

Five Republicans will vote against Trumps emergency declaration

The former House GOP conference chairwoman bucked her party after voicing concerns about a Democratic president using national emergency powers to advance his or her agenda.

McMorris Rodgers was not listed as a DCCC;target in 2020 after fending off former state Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown by 10 points last year. Trump carried;her 5th District by 13 points in 2016. Inside Elections rates the 5th District race Solid Republican.

Michigan Rep Justin Amash

The five-term congressman was the only GOP lawmaker to co-sponsor the disapproval resolution, arguing that the national emergency declaration usurped Congress constitutional role. Amash blasted fellow Republicans who decried executive overreach under former President Barack Obama, saying in a tweet, If your faithfulness to the Constitution depends on which party controls the White House, then you are not faithful to it.

Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales rates;his 3rd District race as Solid Republican. Trump carried the;seat by 9 points in 2016, and Amash won re-election;last year by 11 points. The;DCCC did not list Amash as one of its 2020 targets.


These 12 Republicans Defied Trump And Voted To Overturn His Declaration Of An Emergency At The Border

Twelve Republican senators defied President Trump on Thursday, rebuffing his public and private pleas for GOP unity and voting for a resolution overturning his declaration of a national emergency at the border.

The vote marked congressional Republicans first significant defection from Trump in more than two years. Throughout his presidency, he has enjoyed almost universal support from his party save for a few GOP lawmakers who bucked him in big moments like the repeal of the Affordable Care Act and some foreign policy issues.

But this was a rejection of Trump on his signature campaign promise. Since the day he announced his candidacy for president, Trump spoke about ending illegal immigration and building a wall along the southern border that he originally said would be paid for by Mexico. It is the defining issue among his core supporters. Build the wall is a Trump rallying cry.

The Senate Republicans who voted to block Trumps ability to unilaterally circumvent Congress and shift money to build his wall were swift to point out they still supported the wall, but they were voting to preserve the constitutional separation of powers.

To make clear, a border fence, a border barrier is a policy that I support, wholeheartedly, unequivocally, said Sen. Mike Lee on the Senate floor, in announcing his support for the resolution.


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Pennsylvania Rep Brian Fitzpatrick

Clinton would have carried Fitzpatricks 1st District by 2 points had the new Pennsylvania congressional lines been in place in 2016. To survive in the swing district, the two-term lawmaker has emphasized his penchant for bipartisanship and his experience as a former FBI agent. Fitzpatrick previously said declaring a national emergency sets a bad precedent.

He is once again a top Democratic target after defeating self-funder Scott Wallace by nearly 3 points points last fall. Inside Elections rates his re-election race Tilts Republican.

President Trump May Have Hurt His Own Case When He Said I Dont Have To Do This When Declaring The National Emergency

Senate Republicans see the national emergency vote as a ...

“I could do the wall over a longer period of time,” Pres. Trump says.

“I didn’t need to do this. But I’d rather do it much faster.”

President Trump announced on February 15, 2019, that he was signing a bipartisan spending deal and declaring a national emergency at the same time.

The congressional deal provided $1.375 billion for bollard-style fencing at the border. It provided an overall $1.7 billion increase in spending for the Department of Homeland Security, which would pay for more customs officers, humanitarian aid and technology. The bill also funds approximately 45,000 beds at immigration detention centers operated by ICE.


In making the announcement, President Trump provided opponents with ammunition against the national emergency. He stated during the Rose Garden speech, I could do the wall over a longer period of time. I didnt need to do this. But Id rather do it much faster. You can see that portion of the speech embedded above.

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The House Voted To Block The National Emergency On February 26 2019 With 13 Republicans Voting With Democrats To Approve The Measure

The House voted to block President Trumps national emergency on February 26, 2019. Representative Joaquin Castro of Texas sponsored the joint resolution, which passed mainly along party lines in a vote of 245 to 182. Thirteen Republicans joined with Democrats to approve the measure:

Rep. Francis Rooney of FloridaRep. Thomas Massie of KentuckyRep. Justin Amash of MichiganRep. Fred Upton of MichiganRep. Elise Stefanik of New YorkRep. Greg Walden of OregonRep. Brian Fitzpatrick of PennsylvaniaRep. Dusty Johnson of South DakotaRep. Will Hurd of TexasRep. Jaime Herrera Beutler of WashingtonRep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers of WashingtonRep. Jim Sensenbrenner of WisconsinRep. Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin

One of those Republicans, Rep. Will Hurd, represents a district that includes more land along the border with Mexico than any other member of Congress more than 800 miles. He has pushed for more security agents and technological measures to secure the border but has stated that a physical barrier is not the most effective measure.


According to congressional rules, a joint resolution concerning a national emergency is something the Senate cannot refuse to take a vote on. The Senate had 18 days after the House passed the resolution to take a vote on it.

Senate Rejects Trumps Border Emergency Declaration Setting Up First Veto

By Emily Cochrane and Glenn Thrush

WASHINGTON A dozen Republicans joined Senate Democrats on Thursday to overturn President Trumps declaration of a national emergency at the southwestern border, arguing that the president had exceeded his powers in trying to build a border wall over Congresss objections.

The 59-to-41 vote on a measure already approved by the House set up the first veto of Mr. Trumps presidency. It was not a big enough margin to override his promised veto, but Congress has now voted for the first time to block a presidential emergency declaration and on one of the core promises that animated Mr. Trumps political rise.

Never before has a president asked for funding, Congress has not provided it, and the president then has used the National Emergencies Act of 1976 to spend the money anyway, said Senator Lamar Alexander, Republican of Tennessee. Our nations founders gave to Congress the power to approve all spending so that the president would not have too much power. This check on the executive is a crucial source of our freedom.


It was the latest sign that the cautious Republican majority in the Senate, spurred on by a far bolder Democrat-controlled House, was beginning to reassert its authority with a president who had gone virtually unchecked during his first two years in office.

Mr. Trump had sought to frame the vote publicly as not only a declaration of support for his border security policies but as a sign of personal loyalty.

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The 26 Republicans Whove Voted Against Trumps Border Wall Emergency

Last week, with a 53-36 vote , the U.S. Senate failed to get the two-thirds necessary to override President Trumps veto of a resolution reversing his February 15 national emergency . That declaration, coming after Trump failed to force Congress to pay billions for his border wall demands, would take more than $6 billion from the Defense Department budget and Treasury seized-asset funds, and plow it into border wall construction.

A quick rundown:


  • 2019 started with much of the U.S. government shut down because Congress would not pass a budget giving Trump the $5.7 billion he wanted for his border wall.
  • Finally, after a 35-day shutdown, Trump caved and signed a budget with far less wall funding.
  • On February 15, using power he claimed that the 1976 National Emergencies Act gives him, Trump declared an emergency at the border requiring him to move money out of defense accounts and into wall-building.
  • Court challenges to this emergency declaration are ongoing. In July, the Supreme Court allowed wall-building to proceed while judicial deliberations continue. In mid-October, though, a federal judge in El Paso froze much of the Defense Department money.

Twice nowin February-March and September-OctoberCongress has passed joint resolutions to take down Trumps emergency declaration. Both times, Trump has vetoed the resolutions. Both times, a strong majority, but not the necessary two-thirds, has voted to override the veto.

How Every Senator Voted On Ending Trumps National Emergency

12 Republicans Vote With Democrats In Terminating Trumps National Emergency | Hardball | MSNBC
59 41

Twelve Republican senators joined Democrats on Thursday to block President Trumps declaration of an emergency on the United States border with Mexico. The Republicans included Mike Lee and Mitt Romney, both of Utah, as well as Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.

Mr. Trump is expected to veto the resolution; two-thirds of both the House and the Senate would have to vote to override the veto.

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Senators Argue That This Vote Was About Preserving The Constitution And That They Actually Still Agree With The President On Border Security

Many Republicans justified their vote against Trump by citing more abstract concerns about executive power.


Several GOP lawmakers who voted against the national emergency went out of their way to argue that they were simply preserving the sanctity of the Constitution, and not so much disagreeing with Trump at all.

I share President Trumps goal of securing our borders, but expanding the powers of the presidency beyond its constitutional limits is something I cannot support, Sen. Jerry Moran emphasized in a statement explaining his vote in favor of the resolution.

Instead of calling out Trump, their stances on the vote were broadly reframed to focus on Congresss responsibility to respect the Constitution and protect the separation of powers.

I think the Senates waking up a little bit to our responsibilities, said Sen. Lamar Alexander . Weve gotten a little lazy about our responsibilities, and forgotten the founders had very good reason to give powers to the Senate. The reason was to keep from having an executive with too much power.

Alexander, who is retiring in 2020, told Vox he hoped the two recent votes would remind senators of their constitutional power.


I think the value of these last two weeks has been to remind the Senate of our constitutional place, and the reason for it, he said. It goes to the very source of our freedom; its the way we balance power in this country.

Senate Votes To End Trump National Emergency As 12 Republicans Join In Rebuke

WASHINGTON The Senate voted 59-41 on Thursday to cancel President Donald Trump’s national security declaration to fund a wall on the border, as 12 Republicans joined Democrats in an unusual rebuke of the president.

Trump has vowed to veto the measure, which would block him from making an end run around Congress to obtain billions of federal dollars that have been set aside for other purposes to build the wall he has promised along the border with Mexico.

The vote could play a role in coming lawsuits challenging the emergency declaration. Before the vote, nine Republican senators said they would support the measure: Jerry Moran of Kansas, Rand Paul of Kentucky, Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, Rob Portman of Ohio, Mike Lee of Utah, Mitt Romney of Utah, Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Susan Collins of Maine.

The number of GOP defections grew when the final votes were tallied to include Marco Rubio of Florida, Roy Blunt of Missouri and Roger Wicker of Mississippi. Moran and Alexander have announced that they don’t plan to seek re-election next year, while Collins is up for re-election in 2020.


After the measure passed, Trump tweeted simply:

VETO!

The measure, passed by the House of Representatives in February, now heads to Trump’s desk. It would be the first veto of his presidency.

Earlier at the White House, the president told reporters that the result of the vote didn’t matter.

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Sen Rand Paul Of Kentucky

Paul announced at a GOP Lincoln Day dinner earlier this month that he would support the resolution, noting that Congress did not appropriate the funds Trump was looking to use for the border wall. If we take away those checks and balances, its a dangerous thing, the two-term senator said.

Paul has described his political views as libertarian, and has been known to break with his party on foreign policy and surveillance issues.;He was re-elected to the Senate in 2016 after a failed White House bid, and he will not face voters again until 2022.

Senate Again Votes To End Trump Emergency Declaration On Border Wall

Senate GOP Eyes Big Vote Against Trump on National ...

The Senate again voted on Wednesday to end President TrumpDonald TrumpFormer Sen. Heller to run for Nevada governorOvernight Defense & National Security Milley becomes lightning rodJoint Chiefs Chairman Milley becomes lightning rod on rightMOREs emergency declaration on the U.S.-Mexico border wall, paving the way for a veto showdown with the White House.

Senators voted 5441;on a resolution to end the declaration, which Trump used to shift billions of dollars from the military toward wall construction.

Under the National Emergencies Act, a resolution ending the declaration needed only a simple majority to clear the Senate, making it likely to be approved.;But underscoring the broad swath of concern about Trumps actions among the Senate GOP caucus, 11 Republican senators voted to nix the declaration.

Roger Frederick WickerTop Republican: General told senators he opposed Afghanistan withdrawalNY Democrat tests positive for COVID-19 in latest House breakthrough caseFlorida Democrat becomes latest breakthrough COVID-19 case in HouseMORE voted to end the president’s declaration.;

Democrats have seized on the administrations decision to shift money away from military construction projects as a way to politically box in Republicans by forcing them to decide between breaking with Trump or voting to allow money to be shifted away from projects in their own states.

Same way I voted last time. How would I square voting differently? Cornyn asked.

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Sen Thom Tillis Of North Carolina

The Senate has not yet voted on the resolution, but due to the procedure required for this type of action, the upper house of Congress will take up the matter within the next several weeks.

Sen. Tillis wrote in an op-ed in The Washington Post saying that “President Trump has few bigger allies than me when it comes to supporting his vision of 21st-century border security, encompassing a major investment in technology, personnel and infrastructure, including new physical barriers where they will be effective.”

Despite his support of Trump’s border security proposals, he said he would support a resolution to disapprove of Trump’s declaration of a national emergency.

“As a U.S. senator, I cannot justify providing the executive with more ways to bypass Congress,” Tillis wrote.

Lawmakers Expressed Concern About Funds Being Taken Away From Military Projects That Had Been Deemed Essential

Spoke with today on the national emergency declaration I am seeking assurances that the money will not come from Arizona military construction projects. We can & must secure our border while ensuring our armed forces have the resources and facilities they need.

Martha McSally

Senate Republicans such as Lamar Alexander of Tennessee and Martha McSally from Arizona both expressed concern about funding being taken away from military construction projects. Neither of them confirmed ahead of time how they planned to vote on the presidents national emergency. Other Senate Republicans whose decisions appeared uncertain ahead of the vote included Mitt Romney of Utah, Rob Portman of Ohio, Marco Rubio of Florida, and Roy Blunt of Missouri. Even Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma, a frequent defender of the president, had indicated he could vote against the national emergency if it jeopardized military funding.

The Trump administration had laid out plans to use up to $3.6 billion from the Department of Defense. Projects that could be delayed if the money is diverted include improvements to F-35 aircraft hangars, maintenance upgrades at bases overseas and building new family units for service members.

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The Challenge To Republicans In The Vote To Terminate Trumps Emergency

At around 6:30 P.M. on Tuesday, the House of Representatives voted to terminate President Trumps at the southern border, 245182. The interesting number within that tally is thirteen: the number of Republicans who broke with Trump to vote yes on the bill. Their votes, strictly speaking, werent needed to get the termination through the House, which the Democrats control. The same wont be true in the Senate, which the Republicans narrowly control and which, under the terms of the law allowing Presidents to declare national emergencies, must now take up the House bill within eighteen days. Mitch McConnell, the Senate Majority Leader, cant simply push this one aside. The vote will be an open test of the willingness of Republicans to place a limit on this Presidents grab for power. Speaking to reporters on Monday, McConnell said that he could not handicap the outcome of the vote. All I can tell you is that it certainly will occur.

And, sometimes, it takes a bad President to expose the flaws in a bad law. When all of this is over, Congress should look at the National Emergencies Act and do something about one of its key failures: it leaves it up to the President to define what, exactly, constitutes an emergency. Members of Congress in both parties can, and should, argue with the law. And they can, and should, argue with this President.

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