The House will vote Tuesday to block Donald Trump’s border wall national emergency, a vote that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said is a vote “to defend our democracy,” one that “is not about politics, it’s not about partisanship, it’s about patriotism.” While it shouldn’t be difficult for the resolution to pass with Democratic votes, the big question for the day is which Republicans will vote with Democrats. Rep. Justin Amash, well-known for going his own way, has already said he’ll vote for the resolution, challenging his fellow Republicans in a tweet saying, “The same congressional Republicans who joined me in blasting Pres. Obama’s executive overreach now cry out for a king to usurp legislative powers. If your faithfulness to the Constitution depends on which party controls the White House, then you are not faithful to it.”
Few Republicans are likely to join Amash, though. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler has suggested she might vote yes, without making any commitments. The Hill counts another eight Republicans as undecided: Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart, Brian Fitzpatrick, Mike Gallagher, Will Hurd, Elise Stefanik, Chris Stewart, Mac Thornberry, and Greg Walden. They face the question of whether to do what they clearly know is right, or to do what Donald Trump demands.
Regardless of whether more Republicans join Amash in voting yes, the resolution is expected to pass the House easily. The Senate is the next question. There, Republican Sens. Susan Collins and Thom Tillis have indicated they’ll vote yes, and Lisa Murkowski is seen as a likely yes. The Hill counts another 11 Republicans as undecided. Four Republican votes are all that’s required to pass the resolution if all 47 Democrats vote yes … but we’re talking about Republicans in the age of Trump. It’s unlikely they’d challenge him to that degree. Either way, Trump has vowed to veto the resolution if it passes.
Are you represented by a Republican in Congress? Sign and send to your Republican House member: Terminate Trump’s "national emergency." Or send the same message to your Republican senator.