House passes resolution to end Trump's emergency declaration to build a wall
The House of Representatives passed a resolution to end President Trump's emergency declaration along the southern border, which the president announced in February to obtain funds to build a border wall. The Senate passed the resolution with bipartisan support earlier this week.
This is the second time that Congress has passed a bill blocking the declaration, although that bill was vetoed by Mr. Trump in March. The resolution which passed in Congress this week is also expected to be vetoed by Mr. Trump.
The bill passed with the support of 11 Republicans and one independent in the House. Eleven Republican senators also joined Democrats to pass the resolution in the Senate on Wednesday.
The president's declaration says that the situation at the southern border is a border security and humanitarian crisis that threatens U.S. national security. Mr. Trump made the declaration so that he could unilaterally build a border wall despite the fact that Congress had not appropriated the funds for him to do so. Under the declaration, Mr. Trump diverted funding from congressionally approved military construction projects to pay for border barriers.
The administration has so far reprogrammed about $6.1 billion in funding for the construction of border barriers.
"The President's decision to cancel $3.6 billion for military construction to pay for his wasteful wall makes America less safe. The administration is stealing funds from 127 initiatives in 21 countries, 23 states and three territories," Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a speech on the House floor before the vote.
"The Administration's decision also dishonors the constitution by negating its most fundamental principle, the separation of powers. It's an assault on our power of the purse," Pelosi continued.
Eleanor Watson contributed to this report