Trump's national emergency declaration faces rebuke in the Senate despite last-minute efforts to compromise

(Image credit: Darren McCollester/Getty Images)

last updated 14 March 2019

As Thursday's Senate vote swiftly approaches, President Trump's national emergency declaration faces near-certain humiliation, despite his administration's attempt to broker some sort of deal with on-the-fence Republicans.

On Wednesday, Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) became the fifth Republican to announce that he would vote in favor of the resolution in favor of blocking Trump's emergency declaration regarding the border, which was already passed in the House. Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Ala.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) had all previously announced their decisions to support the measure. Those four alone were enough to secure a majority considering all 47 Democratic senators are set to vote for the motion, but The Hill reports that Tillis was willing to compromise with the Trump administration and possibly switch his vote, leaving some hope for the White House.

Lee, too, sought to find a middle ground and perhaps limit the number of Republican defections on the vote. Through negotiations with Vice President Mike Pence, Lee proposed a bill that would limit the scope of presidential powers going forward, The Washington Post reported, but Trump personally called Lee and told him that the deal was not acceptable. In turn, Lee committed to blocking the declaration, all but assuring a victory for the resolution. If successful, the resolution would send a clear message of disapproval to Trump, who declared an emergency in part to help him build his promised border wall.

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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.

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