Senators unveil resolution to block Trump’s emergency declaration

Senators unveiled a resolution on Thursday to block President Trump’s emergency declaration to construct the U.S.-Mexico border wall.

Sens. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) introduced the resolution on the Senate floor, where it’s expected to be taken up within a matter of weeks.

{mosads}The two senators, in back-to-back speeches, stressed that the Senate’s vote wasn’t about whether a senator supported the U.S.-Mexico border wall or Trump but about maintaining a separation of power between the executive and legislative branches on funding the government.

“I support, strongly support, protecting the institutional prerogatives of the United States Senate and the system of checks and balances that is central to the structure of our government,” Collins said. 

Udall added that the debate over the emergency declaration was about the “strength of the rule of law.”

“This is about protecting the very heart of our American system of government. … Congress and only Congress holds the power of the purse,” he said.

The Senate resolution, which is also being co-sponsored by Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), comes two days after the House passed its measure to block Trump’s emergency declaration.

All Democrats are expected to back the resolution once it comes to the Senate floor. They’ll need four Republican senators to get it to Trump’s desk, where he’s said he will veto it.

So far, three Republican senators have said they will vote for the resolution: Collins, Murkowski and Thom Tillis (N.C.).

Several other Republicans have voiced concerns about Trump’s emergency declaration.