Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) shared his prediction over a House-led effort to block President Trump’s border wall national emergency declaration, saying it will be “deader than dead” after Trump rejects the bill.
“It’ll pass the house, with a handful of republican votes,” said Graham “it’ll come to the senate, it might get 51 [votes]. It’ll get vetoed by the president, and republicans will stand with the president to sustain his veto, and it will be deader than dead.”
Graham feels that Republicans may break ranks over fears that allowing the emergency declaration to go forward will lead to potential future democratic administrations using similar declarations, and are unwilling to cede that much power to the administrative branch. Graham, however, doesn’t see that as a real issue.
“That’s not my concern,” said Graham. “my concern is a broken border.”
The president has already said that he will reject such a resolution.
“Will I veto? One-hundred percent,” and I don’t think it survives a veto,” said Trump in the Oval Office.
President Trump declared a national emergency even after signing the spending bill that reopened the government after a disastrous 37-day government shutdown. That bill allowed for $1.375 billion for border security, far less than the $5.5 billion he was aiming for to just start his southern border wall.
Trump has claimed that such a wall is necessary since his election campaign, famously claiming initially that Mexico would pat for construction. He has since decided to look for his funding domestically. His national emergency declaration would hit funds already earmarked for U.S. Military construction projects.
Polls have shown that support for President Trump’s national emergency declaration remains low, with an NPR/PBS Newshour/Marist poll showing a 61-36 split against the declaration. Pulls from Morning Consult/Politico poll and HuffPost/YouGov has shown a similar lack of overall support.
View the exchange below.
Image via screen capture from video source.