Analysis: How Declaring a National Emergency Could Hurt Some Republicans

A national emergency declaration from President Trump could create a problem for some Senate Republicans.

Many Republicans have made no secret of their distaste for an emergency declaration, which the president has asserted he may declare to build a border wall if he is unsatisfied with a congressional compromise on border security. Not only would the move likely get tied up in the courts, but Republicans worry that such a strong display of executive authority could establish a troubling precedent when a Democrat occupies the White House.

More immediately, though, an emergency declaration could force Senate Republicans to take an unsavory vote on opposing the emergency declaration. Under the law governing national emergencies, Congress can vote to terminate the emergency. If the Democratic House were to pass a resolution terminating the emergency, the Senate would likely have to vote on it.

For many Senate Republicans, especially those running in competitive re-election races this cycle, voting on such a resolution would leave no desirable option. On the one hand, voting against the resolution would give Democrats another opportunity to paint the vulnerable Republicans as lackeys to Mr. Trump in states where he is not popular. On the other, voting for the resolution to terminate the emergency — and bucking Mr. Trump — could anger the GOP base and potentially invalidate the emergency declaration.

In short, vulnerable Senate Republicans hoping to quietly distance themselves from the president, while not visibly opposing him, could be out of luck.

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