Congressman Cohen Votes to Override Trump Veto

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) voted to override President Trump’s veto of a bipartisan resolution to overturn his declaration of a national emergency on the U.S.-Mexican border and to spend unauthorized money on a wall. The override vote, which requires a two-thirds supermajority, failed by a vote of 248 to 181.

Congressman Cohen made the following statement:

“The President’s illegal and desperate use of the National Emergencies Act and fearmongering about a fake emergency on our southern border will now move to the courts, which, I hope, will uphold Congress’s constitutional power of the purse. Congress, not the President, decides how federal dollars are spent.”

The House voted on February 26th and the Senate voted on March 14th for H.J. Res. 46, a joint resolution to reject the President’s emergency declaration and protect the constitutional system of checks and balances. On March 15th, President Trump vetoed the measure. Today’s vote was an effort to override that veto.