President Donald Trump reiterated his threat Thursday to shelve any legislation that would terminate his national emergency declaration to divert military funds for the construction of additional physical barriers along the United Stats border with Mexico.
"VETO!" Trump wrote on Twitter moments after the Senate passed a resolution to block his use of emergency powers.
The White House had already promised a veto in a statement of administration policy shortly before the House of Representatives passed the same resolution in February. Now that the resolution is headed to Trump's desk, it will be the first veto of his presidency.
In total, 12 Republicans crossed the aisle to join Democrats in voting to terminate the emergency declaration, dealing a substantial blow to one of Trump's signature issues.
Trump's move will likely put the matter to rest as neither the House nor the Senate majorities that voted for the resolution were large enough to override a veto. Only 59 senators voted for the measure on Thursday, while 67 would be needed to override a veto, and 245 House members voted for the measure, while 290 would be needed for an override.
Beyond the national emergency, Trump is also likely to receive another rebuke in the coming weeks.
The Senate narrowly passed a resolution on Wednesday that would withdraw United States support from the Saudi-led war in Yemen. Because of a procedural snafu, the House will have to vote on the resolution again, where it is likely to pass overwhelmingly.
The Yemen resolution will hand Trump yet another instance in which he will hae to veto legislation to maintain his administration policy.
