Republican senators may agree to Trump's border wall

WASHINGTON - The White House and Republican senators sought compromise on Tuesday on limiting presidents' powers to unilaterally declare national emergencies, as chances improved that US President Donald Trump might avoid a long-expected rejection by Congress of his effort to divert billions more for building barriers along the Mexican border.

As a Thursday showdown vote in the Senate neared, Republican Senators Mike Lee of Utah and Thom Tillis of North Carolina among others were talking with the White House about related legislation that would curb the ability of presidents to declare emergencies. If Trump commits to signing a bill handcuffing future emergency declarations, more GOP senators might support his border emergency declaration in Thursday's vote.

Lee and Tillis were among five Republican senators who met privately with US Vice-President Mike Pence on Tuesday at the Capitol in Washington as Republicans sought a way to bolster support for Trump in Thursday's crucial vote. Since the Democratic-run House voted last month to block Trump, Senate passage of the resolution rejecting the border emergency would send it to the White House, where it would face a certain veto - Trump's first.

By late on Tuesday, there were indications that Republican opposition to Trump's emergency along the Mexican border was softening. If it stands, the declaration would let Trump divert $3.6 billion from military construction projects to build border barriers, even though Congress had voted to limit him to less than $1.4 billion for barrier construction in the budget.

Emergency declarations

Tillis is among four Senate Republicans who have said they'd vote with Democrats to oppose Trump's border emergency. At a closed-door lunch on Tuesday, Tillis suggested he could be open to backing the president, said two people familiar with his comments. One said Tillis told his colleagues he could change his vote if Trump was indeed ready to curb presidential powers to declare emergencies without Congress' approval.

Republicans control the Senate 53-47, meaning that four GOP defections would be enough to send the resolution blocking Trump's border emergency to the White House. The others are Senators Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Rand Paul of Kentucky.

Paul said earlier this month that there were "at least 10" GOP senators prepared to oppose Trump's emergency. But he told reporters on Tuesday that he now expects fewer defections.

If the Senate sends the resolution blocking Trump's border emergency to the White House, Congress would be highly unlikely to muster the two-thirds majorities needed to eventually override a veto.

Associated Press

(China Daily 03/14/2019 page12)