House for second time approves measure blocking Trump’s emergency declaration for wall

The House passed a joint resolution on Friday that would overturn President Trump’s emergency declaration at the southern border, which has allowed him to divert other government spending to his wall.

The 236-174 vote drew support from 11 Republicans, but not enough to overturn an expected veto from the president.

{mosads}The measure is aimed at preventing the diversion of $3.6 billion for military construction projects toward the construction of Trump’s wall along the U.S.-Mexico border without congressional approval.

Passage of the measure marks the second time Congress has approved legislation challenging Trump’s authority to invoke emergency powers to build his wall.

The president vetoed an earlier resolution in March.

Under the National Emergencies Act, Democratic lawmakers can force a vote to end the emergency declaration every six months.

The new measure was approved by the Senate earlier this week in a 54-41 vote, with 11 Republicans joining Democrats in voting to block Trump.

The president’s decision to declare a national emergency in February sparked sharp pushback from Democrats and a number of GOP defense hawks and constitutionalists. Critics argued it was a violation of the separation of powers, as Congress is tasked with deciding how federal funds should be allocated.

Trump and the Republicans supporting him say failing to build the wall would be a threat to the country’s national security.

The president centered his 2016 campaign on building a wall and having Mexico pay for it. The White House is now using funds from U.S. military projects to pay for the construction of the wall.

Trump appears to see making progress on building the wall as crucial to his reelection effort.