President Trump’s veto, which upholds his national border declaration, withstood a vote Tuesday in the U.S. House of Representatives. Both representatives from Idaho, Republicans Mike Simpson and Russ Fulcher, voted against the resolution to override the veto; it failed 248-181. To pass, it needed a two-thirds majority.
In a statement to the Idaho Press, Simpson reiterated that he has continually voted in favor of the emergency declaration and will continue to “uphold the rule of law as it stands.”“When the House first voted to disapprove of the national emergency declared by President Trump, I voted no. That vote was a political stunt by Speaker (Nancy) Pelosi, and the same can be said for this attempt to override the President’s veto,” Simpson said in a statement. “While I do have concerns about the precedent this may set in the future, my job as a Member of Congress is to uphold the rule of law as it stands today. The President has broad statutory authority to protect our nation and there is no denying that the crisis at our southern border is real.”
Simpson said that he hopes Congress can now move forward with “comprehensive immigration reform that includes strong border security, addresses the millions of immigrants living in the shadows of our society, and provides much needed relief to the labor shortage occurring in the agriculture industry.”
Fulcher’s office did not respond to request for comment before publication.