House votes on resolution to block Trump’s emergency declaration

The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives is expected to pass a resolution late Tuesday afternoon to terminate President Trump’s national emergency proclamation, which is already being challenged in court by a multi-state lawsuit.

The bill, introduced by Democrats last week, would block the implementation of the president’s controversial proclamation, which he is relying on to unilaterally access $3.6 billion in military construction funds to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

“This is the most consequential vote that we’ve taken with respect to the separation of powers probably in decades and with respect to the balance of power in the constitution between the president and Congress,” Democratic Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro, the proposal’s lead sponsor, told reporters Tuesday morning.

With 226 cosponsors, the resolution will likely garner more than enough votes to secure passage in the House. Only one House Republican has cosponsored the measure, Rep. Justin Amash, of Michigan. Rep. Thomas Massey, another Republican, said Tuesday that he’ll also support the resolution to terminate the president’s emergency declaration.

It’s not certain what the bill’s fate will be in the Senate. President Trump has said he’ll veto the resolution, should it pass. To prevail, both the House and Senate would need a two-thirds majority to override his veto. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, says she’ll support the bill, and Maine Sen. Susan Collins has also said the president’s declaration is of “dubious constitutionality.” Several Republicans who disagree with the declaration take issue with the president’s decision to bypass Congress and its constitutional power of the purse.

Despite voicing concerns about the proclamation before Mr. Trump issued it, most rank-and-file Republicans and the House and Senate GOP leadership have expressed their support for the White House’s move.

“There is a national emergency at the southern border that the Democrats will declare today doesn’t exist,” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said Tuesday morning.

CBS News’ Rebecca Kaplan contributed to this report.