Trump calls Dems ‘party of open borders, drugs and crime’ after veto sustained

President Trump on Tuesday praised House Republicans who voted to sustain his veto of a measure seeking to block his emergency declaration at the southern border.

“Thank you to the House Republicans for sticking together and the BIG WIN today on the Border,” Trump tweeted.

The president asserted that the Democratic-led push to override his veto of a measure disapproving of his emergency declaration showed that Democrats are “the party of Open Borders, Drugs and Crime!”

Thank you to the House Republicans for sticking together and the BIG WIN today on the Border. Today’s vote simply reaffirms Congressional Democrats are the party of Open Borders, Drugs and Crime!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 26, 2019

The House passed a measure late last month blocking Trump’s emergency declaration to secure funds for a border wall. Trump vetoed the resolution after it also passed the Senate earlier this month.{mosads}

The House voted Tuesday on overriding Trump’s veto — the first of his presidency — but fell several dozen votes short of the two-thirds majority needed. Fourteen GOP lawmakers broke party lines to rebuke the president’s emergency declaration for a second time.

The vote to override Trump’s veto was expected to fail, but it still delivered a victory for the president and came a day after the Pentagon approved the transfer of up to $1 billion in funds as part of the emergency declaration to build 57 miles of border wall.

Trump declared the national emergency last month after Congress did not appropriate the $5.7 billion he sought for border security.

While Democrats have supported funding for border security measures, Trump has sought to characterize the party as anti-border security because of its opposition to his national emergency, and more broadly to his efforts to construct a wall along the southern border.

Democrats have been particularly vocal critics of the emergency declaration, insisting that it’s unnecessary and an abuse of power.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) released a statement after Tuesday’s veto override vote indicating that they would continue to fight the measure.

“In six months, the Congress will have another opportunity to put a stop to this President’s wrongdoing,” they said. “We will continue to review all options to protect our Constitution and our Democracy from the President’s assault.”