WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 26th March, 2019) The US House of Representatives is scheduled to hold a vote on Tuesday on whether to override President Donald Trump's veto of legislation that would have ended his national emergency declaration over border security.
US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who called the president's emergency declaration a "lawless power grab," announced the vote in a March 15 news release.
"On March 26, the House will once again act to protect our Constitution and our democracy from the President's emergency declaration by holding a vote to override his veto," Pelosi said in the release.
Trump issued the first veto of his presidency on March 15, striking down a Congress resolution to end his national emergency, which passed with bipartisan support in both chambers.
The US Senate passed the joint resolution with a 59-41 vote on March 14, while the House passed the resolution with a 245-182 vote on February 27.
The attempt to override Trump's veto is expected to fail in the House after only 13 Republicans joined their Democratic colleagues in last month's vote to block the president's emergency declaration. Democrats, however, would need more than 50 Republicans to vote against Trump to override his veto.
"Whether we can succeed with the number of votes is not the point.�We are establishing the intent of Congress," Pelosi said at press event on Wednesday.
In order to override a presidential veto, a two-thirds majority is required in each congressional chamber. Neither the House nor the Senate appear to have enough votes to reach that threshold.�
Trump declared a national emergency last month to free up to $8 billion in Federal funding to build a wall on the US border with Mexico.
The president has said the border is needed to prevent criminals and terrorists from pouring into the United States.
