Mitch McConnell could save the border wall

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., could soon play a key role in protecting the proposed border wall by refusing to hold a vote on a measure aimed at nullifying Trump's national emergency declaration.

Congress is poised to send Trump a resolution in the coming weeks that rescinds the national emergency Trump issued on Friday to justify shifting billions of dollars in federal funds for border wall construction.

If the House and Senate pass that resolution, Trump would likely veto it, after which the House and Senate could try to override that veto. But even if the Democrat-led House overrode Trump's veto, McConnell has the power to ignore that House vote and refuse to reconsider it at all.

“Nothing in the Constitution requires that either chamber vote directly on the question of re-passing a vetoed bill,” the Congressional Research Service reported in 2015, referring to a vote to override a veto. “If either chamber fails to vote on the question, then the measure dies.”

More