US Senate Votes to Block Trump Border Declaration

US President Donald Trump attends a round table discussion on border security with local leaders in January in the Cabinet Room of the White House. Photo: Jacquelyn Martin / Associated Press
US President Donald Trump attends a round table discussion on border security with local leaders in January in the Cabinet Room of the White House. Photo: Jacquelyn Martin / Associated Press

WASHINGTON — A dozen defecting Republicans have joined Senate Democrats to block the national emergency that President Donald Trump declared so he could build his border wall with Mexico.

The rejection caps a week of confrontation with the White House as both parties in Congress strain to exert their power in new ways.

The 59-41 tally, following the Senate’s vote a day earlier to end U.S. involvement in the war in Yemen, promises to force Trump into the first vetoes of his presidency. Trump had warned against both actions. Moments after Thursday’s vote, the president tweeted a single word of warning: “VETO!”

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