Surprising Senate vote

Earlier today...








Sure you will.  Sure you will.




Moments ago...

The Senate passed a resolution Thursday to overturn President Trump’s declaration of a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border, with 12 Republicans joining all Democrats to deliver a bipartisan rebuke to the president.

[...]

[T]he Senate vote stood as a rare instance of Republicans breaking with Trump in significant numbers on an issue central to his presidency — the construction of a wall along the southern border.

  WaPo

I am surprised. Pleasantly. Twelve Republicans were concerned about their reputations with their constituents.

[F]or many GOP lawmakers, it was about a bigger issue: The Constitution itself, which grants Congress — not the president -- control over government spending.

[...]

In the end only one Republican who is up for re-election next year — Susan Collins (R-Maine) — voted for the disapproval resolution.

She finally found her spine!

GOP senators voting for the disapproval resolution were: Lamar Alexander (Tenn.), Roy Blunt (Mo.), [Susan Collins (Maine),] Mike Lee (Utah), Jerry Moran (Kan.), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Rand Paul (Ky.), [Rob Portman (Ohio),] Mitt Romney (Utah), Marco Rubio (Fla.), Patrick J. Toomey (Pa.), and Roger F. Wicker (Miss.).

[...]

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), another senator up for re-election in a politically divided state, had announced last month that he would vote for the disapproval resolution. He wrote an opinion piece in The Washington Post at the time arguing there would be “no intellectual honesty” in supporting executive overreach by Trump that he had [opposed] under former President Barack Obama.

But on Thursday Tillis flipped and cast his vote with the president, saying he was reassured by indications that Trump would support changes to the National Emergencies Act itself, to rein in presidential powers going forward.

Biggest pile of bullshit this week. LOL.  What indications?  That obvious tweet?

Trump repeatedly shot down the GOP’s attempts at dealmaking, calling Lee during a private GOP lunch Wednesday to reject a proposal to curtail presidential powers under the National Emergencies Act.

Shortly after that, Lee announced he would be voting for the disapproval resolution.

But Tillis thought Trump would support changes to rein in presidential powers??? He didn't. He was either bought off or scared off.  Intellectual honesty, indeed.

McConnell argued that Trump was acting well within his powers and consistently with previous invocations of the National Emergencies Act.

“Let’s not lose sight of the particular question that’s before us later today, whether the facts tell us there’s truly a humanitarian and security crisis on our Southern border and whether the Senate, for some reason, feels this particular emergency on our own border does not rise to the other national emergencies current in effect,” McConnell said.

Sit down and shut up, Mitch.

And what was Trump's response?



I hope that pisses enough of them off that they override his veto.

Or maybe the nasty names he'll no doubt be hurling at the ones who voted against his wishes will do it.

 ...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.