House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows, R-N.C., predicted that there will not be enough Republican lawmakers to override President Trump’s national emergency declaration.
“Given Congress will try to block this executive action, I’m seeing speculation Congress could override a POTUS veto w/ GOP votes. They will not. The votes will not be there. There is broad GOP + American support for POTUS taking legal, constitutional action to protect families,” Meadows, who leads the voting bloc, tweeted Friday.
Given Congress will try to block this executive action, I’m seeing speculation Congress could override a POTUS veto w/ GOP votes. They will not. The votes will not be there. There is broad GOP + American support for POTUS taking legal, constitutional action to protect families.
— Mark Meadows (@RepMarkMeadows) February 15, 2019
Congress can terminate national emergencies by adopting a joint resolution. If Trump vetoes the resolution, the measure is sent back to the legislature, which can override the president’s decision with support from two-thirds of the House and the Senate.
Trump’s declaration on Friday was issued to diverts funds from the Department of Defense to supplement the $1.375 billion approved by Congress on Thursday for physical barriers along parts of the U.S.-Mexico border. The president originally requested $5.7 billion. The spending deal on Thursday passed the House by 300-128 votes and the Senate by 83-16 votes in what is considered to be a veto-proof majority.
Trump on Friday also anticipated he would face opposition to his move through the court system.
“I’ll sign the final papers as soon as I get into the Oval Office. We will have a national emergency. We will then be sued and they will sue us in the 9th Circuit, even though it shouldn’t be there. We will possibly get a bad ruling, we’ll get another bad ruling, and we’ll end up in the Supreme Court, and hopefully we’ll get a fair shake and we’ll win in the Supreme Court,” the president said during a Rose Garden address.
