Trump news: From slating Brexit to attacking Beto O'Rourke, president rails against the world as he loses Senate vote
Another day of controversies plaguing the White House as lawmakers set the stage for president's first veto
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Your support makes all the difference.The US Senate has rejected Donald Trump’s national emergency declaration in a major vote, setting the stage for the first veto of his presidency during another banner day of controversies plaguing the White House.
The Senate voted 59-41 to cancel Trump’s February proclamation of a border emergency, which he invoked to spend billions of dollars more on additional border barriers than Congress had approved.
Twelve Republicans joined Democrats in defying Mr Trump in a showdown many GOP senators had hoped to avoid because he commands die-hard loyalty from millions of conservative voters who could punish defecting lawmakers in next year’s elections.
The president has no reluctance to casting his first veto to advance his campaign exhortation, “Build the Wall,” which has prompted roars at countless rallies hosted by Mr Trump.
Approval votes in both the Senate and House fell short of the two-thirds majorities needed to override.
“I look forward to VETOING the just passed Democrat inspired Resolution which would OPEN BORDERS while increasing Crime, Drugs, and Trafficking in our Country,” Mr Trump wrote on Thursday afternoon.
He added, “I thank all of the Strong Republicans who voted to support Border Security and our desperately needed WALL!”
Though Mr Trump seems sure to prevail in that battle, it remains noteworthy that lawmakers of both parties resisted him in a fight directly tied to his cherished campaign theme of erecting a border wall.
The roll call came just a day after the Senate took a step towards a veto fight with the president on another issue, voting to end U.S. support for the Saudi Arabian-led coalition’s war in Yemen.
Additional reporting by AP. See The Independent’s live coverage from Thursday below.
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Good morning USA, and welcome to another day of controversies plaguing Donald Trump’s presidency. His longtime confidant and adviser Roger Stone is due in court today, a day after his former campaign chairman was sentenced to an additional 73 months in prison — and faced a fresh 16-count, pardon-proof indictment.
We'll bring you live coverage throughout the day.
Donald Trump is falsely asserting that the latest trial of his former campaign chairman proved there was no collusion with Russia. That’s twice in two cases that Trump claimed vindication that did not occur.
The ex-campaign chief, Paul Manafort, was sentenced to nearly 3½ years in prison Wednesday on top of a nearly four-year sentence given by another judge last week.
As if anticipating Trump would claim exoneration from the case, US District Judge Amy Berman Jackson reminded her courtroom during the sentencing hearing Wednesday that the case before her was unrelated to questions about whether the Mr Trump campaign worked with Russians to tilt the 2016 election.
The president is tweeting again, but this time it's a cheery post about National Agriculture day:
We’re waiting to hear whether Judge Amy Berman Jackson will imprison Roger Stone for violating his gag order. The judge has played a prominent role in recent developments surrounding Donald Trump — just yesterday, she sentenced Paul Manafort to 73 months in jail, in addition to a separate sentencing he received from another judge the week prior.
Stone’s status hearing begins at 10:00 am EST.
Roger Stone has arrived to the courthouse and went through security. His appearance has also brought some high-profile guests, including former adviser to Donald Trump, Sam Nunberg, who told reporters, “I’m just here for the circus”.
Judge Amy Berman Jackson is criticising Roger Stone’s lawyers for not informing the court about his upcoming book.
She reportedly told the lawyers, “There’s no explanation for awkward”.
Judge Amy Berman Jackson has announced she will not be penalising Roger Stone for violating his gag order, though he will be forced to sign a document before leaving the courthouse on Thursday.
“I don’t intend to dwell on it this morning,” she told the courtroom.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump is tweeting about his long-promised border wall.
“Prominent legal scholars agree that our actions to address the National Emergency at the Southern Border and to protect the American people are both CONSTITUTIONAL and EXPRESSLY authorized by Congress,” the president began.
He added, “If, at a later date, Congress wants to update the law, I will support those efforts, but today’s issue is BORDER SECURITY and Crime!!! Don’t vote with Pelosi!”
The court has announced a trial date for Roger Stone arriving on 5 November, 2019.
The US House of Representatives has overwhelmingly voted in support of a resolution demanding Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election be made public and provided to Congress upon its completion.
The House resolution is unable to actually force Donald Trump, the White House or the US Justice Department to send Congress materials related to the report that may violate current law or the agency’s rules surrounding official releases of investigatory findings, however.
Still, the vote is seen as a critical demand from the Democratic-controlled House to be able to review the full report from the Special Counsel’s investigation into whether the president’s campaign wrongfully conspired with Russia to sway the election against Hillary Clinton — an effort the Kremlin was pushing throughout the last general election, according to the US Intelligence Community.
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