February 26, 2019

Today, 13 Republicans joined House Democrats to pass a resolution terminating Donald Trump's "national emergency," setting up a battle with Senators, who will be forced to vote on it as soon as it is received from the House.

This vote is not optional; it must be held. So far, the following Republican Senators have said they'll vote against it: Susan Collins, Thom Tillis, and Lisa Murkowski. One more defection and it will go to Donald Trump, who will have to veto it, setting up what is likely to be a legal battle landing in the Supreme Court.

But for now, all eyes are on the Senate and their vote, which must be held sometime in the next 18 days. Today they brought in a Justice Department lawyer to explain the legal implications of the emergency order. Afterwards, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell expressed ambivalence about whether it was legal, a departure from where he was on February 15th, when he said he would support it.

“I haven’t reached a total conclusion,” McConnell said, waffling. “I wouldn’t go to me for a simple will. I did go to law school, but we had some real serious lawyers in there discussing that very issue.”

Oh. Well, here's something that doesn't need any "serious lawyers." Donald Trump himself admitted it wasn't an emergency, he just wanted to hasten his wall for his hardcore base. That is not an emergency, and every single Senator in that chamber should honor their oath of office and terminate the emergency with a unanimous vote.

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