Republican Sen. Rand Paul says he will vote for measure blocking Trump’s emergency declaration, paving way for passage

Sen. Rand Paul is throwing his support behind a resolution that would block President Trump’s declaration of a national emergency to build his long-promised U.S.-Mexico border wall, defying a warning from the president and putting the measure on track to passage.

Paul (R-Ky.) said in a speech Saturday at the Southern Kentucky Lincoln Day Dinner that he “can’t vote to give extra-Constitutional powers to the president,” the Bowling Green Daily News reported.

“I can’t vote to give the president the power to spend money that hasn’t been appropriated by Congress,” Paul said, according to the newspaper. “We may want more money for border security, but Congress didn’t authorize it. If we take away those checks and balances, it’s a dangerous thing.”

Paul joins fellow Republican Sens. Susan Collins (Maine), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Thom Tillis (N.C.) in opposing Trump’s move, a reflection of some resistance within the GOP to what lawmakers see as executive overreach and a test of the constitutional separation of powers.

The disapproval resolution has already passed the Democratic-controlled House and requires a simple majority to pass the GOP-led Senate. Fifty-three senators caucus with Republicans and 47 caucus with Democrats, meaning that four Republican defections would be enough to ensure passage.

While the resolution is likely to clear the Senate, an embarrassing rebuke to Trump, lawmakers in both chambers lack the votes to override a threatened presidential veto.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) spent weeks warning against a national emergency only to declare his support for the move last month. McConnell faces reelection next year and there is concern within the GOP about being forced to choose between Trump and their self-described opposition to executive overreach.