Democracy Dies in Darkness

Thom Tillis’s remarkable flip-flop on Trump’s national emergency and 4 others who also backed off

Analysis by
Staff writer
March 14, 2019 at 4:30 p.m. EDT
President Trump said that he will likely have to veto the Senate’s upcoming vote on a resolution disapproving of his national emergency declaration March 14. (Video: The Washington Post)

Over the last few months, more than 20 Republican senators expressed opposition to or significant reservations about President Trump declaring a national emergency to build a border wall.

On Thursday, they had a chance to register their disapproval. And 12 Republicans did vote against Trump’s measure. But some who spoke in dire terms about the potential impact of the national emergency took a pass and voted with Trump. One of them, in fact, engaged in a flip-flop for the ages.