Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Calif.) told Hill.TV’s “Rising” on Wednesday that he expected more Republicans to vote in favor of the House resolution blocking President Trump’s emergency declaration to secure funds for a wall at the southern border.
“I was surprised that more Republicans didn’t cross over,” Carbajal, who has been in Congress since 2017 and sits on the House Armed Services Committee, told hosts Krystal Ball and Buck Sexton.
“This is a major precedent and a danger to our democracy, and sometimes, despite the gridlock and the partisanship here in Washington, we expect our Congress to rise to the occasion, to put country and patriotism over party,” he continued.
The Democrat-controlled House late Tuesday voted 245-182 to block Trump’s emergency declaration at the southern border.
Democrats voted unanimously to block the declaration, as did 13 Republican lawmakers.
The Republican-controlled Senate is expected to hold a vote on the measure in the coming weeks.
Trump has maintained there is a crisis at the southern border over immigration, but Democrats have said the emergency declaration is a political move for Trump to obtain the funds he needs to construct his long-promised border wall.
“Certainly, I was glad to see a number of Republicans come over to vote for that resolution, but more should have done so,” Carbajal said.
“This is about saving our democracy and ensuring that a precedent isn’t set,” he said. “What stops a future president, Republican or Democrat, for that matter, to issue a declaration for climate change, to address our gun epidemic in our country?” he said. “At that point, I would hope that Republicans, those who voted for this, would say it’s OK.”
— Julia Manchester
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