Three Votes Show Trump May Be Losing GOP Support in Congress

On January 8, the House voted on whether to overturn both vetoes – and they came very close. While the majority of the GOP voted to accept Trump’s veto, 35 Republicans joined the Democrats to bring the Finish the Arkansas Valley Conduit Act back to life with a final count of 248 to 177, with one Republican voting “present” and five more not voting. The Miccosukee Reserved Area Amendments Act saw 24 Republicans join 212 Democrats, with six Republicans and one Democrat not voting, for a final count of 236-188.

Neither of these votes succeeded – but overturning vetoes takes the support of two-thirds of the lawmakers present and voting. That’s a tall order – and Congress has pulled off the feat just 111 times since 1789, which is only about 4.3% of all vetoes.

What’s most concerning for Trump is both how close they came – a two-thirds majority of representatives present and voting would be 283 for the Miccosukee bill and 284 for the other – and the fact that 248 and 236 are both well above the simple majority required to pass bills through the House in general. Losing two to three dozen Republicans in the House in the future could prove devastating to Trump’s legislative agenda – and it doesn’t bode well for the war powers resolution now headed to the House.

Congress Claims the Power of War

While not nearly as big a defection as seen in the House, five Senate Republicans siding with the full Democratic Party lineup is every bit as heavy a blow to the president. Kentucky Republican Ran Paul was one of the co-sponsors of the resolution, and Liberty Nation News reported last week that Republican Senators Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Josh Hawley of Missouri all seemed poised to vote with Democrats on the war powers resolution to prevent the Trump administration from taking any further military or police action in Venezuela. They did, but they weren’t alone. Todd Young of Indiana joined in to make five.

While it seemed John Fetterman (D-PA) might side with Republicans based on his social media post, he and every other Democrat toed the party line. Since war powers resolutions only require a simple majority, the 54-47 vote passed the measure on to the House. It would have seemed unlikely even as recently as a week ago that the House would pass such a resolution. After Thursday’s veto overturn attempts, however, it suddenly doesn’t seem so outlandish.

If the resolution passes the House, as well, it’ll likely end up becoming President Trump’s third veto this term. And as unlikely as it may seem to succeed, that might well bring about the third attempt by Congress this year to overturn a veto.