On Thursday, President Donald Trump tweeted, “VETO!” after the Senate voted against his national emergency declaration that aimed to fund the building of a wall at the southern U.S. border. The vote was a rebuke of the president’s plan by members of his own party, with 12 Republicans siding with Democrats in favor of a resolution against the declaration.
Sylvia Gonzalez-Gorman, assistant professor of political science at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, says she was expecting the resolution to pass, but was surprised that Texas Sen. Ted Cruz didn’t vote in favor of it.
“[He] kind of considers himself a Republican constitutional conservative, [but] did not vote against the national declaration,” Gonzalez-Gorman says.
She says the president apparently assured Cruz that this declaration wasn’t a precedent for similar action in the future. Plus, she says Cruz believed it was needed to protect Americans’ safety.
“Cruz felt that national security trumped what Democrats were claiming at the time,” Gonzalez-Gorman says.
What you’ll hear in this segment:
– Why Sen. Cruz’s vote was counter to his long-held political principles
– How other Texas lawmakers voted in favor of the resolution against Trump’s declaration
– How the emergency declaration matter will likely end up being resolved in court
Written by Caroline Covington.