House fails to override Trump's border wall veto

By Umar Farooq

WASHINGTON (AA) - The House of Representatives failed to garner enough votes Tuesday to override a veto by U.S. President Donald Trump on his national emergency declaration to build his long-promised U.S.-Mexico border wall.

The House voted 248-181 in favor of the override but fell short of the two-thirds majority it needed.

Trump moved to build his long-promised border wall through an executive order last month after he failed to get $5.7 billion he was seeking from Congress for construction, having shut down Congress for the longest stretch in history over his demand.

Opponents of Trump's executive order have warned it sets a dangerous precedent and violates the Constitution's delegation of funding powers to the legislative branch.

Thursday's vote, while unsuccessful, was the first time Congress moved to overturn a president's executive order.

"The president chose to continue to defy the Constitution, the Congress and the will of the American people with a veto," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said before the vote. "We take an oath to the Constitution, not to the president of the United States. We take an oath that we must honor.”

Additional legal challenges to override the order are expected, with multiple legal groups and property owners, whose land Trump needs to build the wall, have filed lawsuits challenging the emergency declaration.