The Democratic-controlled House fell short today in its effort to over-ride US President Donald Trump's first veto, handing him a victory in his effort to spend billions more for constructing barriers along the Southwest border than Congress has approved.
Lawmakers voted 248-181 in favour of overturning his veto, mostly along party lines, but that was 38 votes shy of the number needed for the required two-thirds majority.
The outcome, not a surprise, enabled Trump to move forward on an issue that was a hallmark of his 2016 presidential campaign and of his presidency.
Yet the vote also gave Democrats a way to focus on policy differences with Trump, days after Attorney-General William Barr gave the President a political boost by saying Special Counsel Robert Mueller had concluded that Trump had not colluded with Russia to influence his election.
Congress sent Trump a resolution this month annulling the national emergency that Trump had declared at the US-Mexico border. That included passage by the Republican-led Senate, in which 12 GOP senators — nearly 1 of every 4 — voted with Democrats to block him.
