After plenty of wavering and defections scarce enough to be treated as milestones, 12 Republican senators voted to rebuke President Trump over seizing emergency powers to “build the wall.” Although passing the bill is clearly the right outcome, this vote is no victory for the GOP.

Ever since President Trump first floated the idea of declaring a “national emergency” to address the “crisis” at the southern border, it was clear that it was not about dealing with a real issue but instead circumventing Congress’ power of the purse to pursue a campaign promise.