GOP-run Senate Rebukes Trump's Border Emergency Declaration, But Cruz, Cornyn Back President

WASHINGTON -- The GOP-run Senate on Thursday voted 59-41 to pass a resolution of disapproval against President Donald Trump’s national emergency at the border, even after the White House scrambled to avoid the unprecedented rebuke.Neither Texas Sens. Ted Cruz nor John Cornyn joined in bucking the commander in chief.While Cornyn last month already made clear he would vote against the House-passed resolution of disapproval authored by Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, Cruz had been coy for days about how he would handle Trump's executive end-run.Cruz, an avowed constitutional conservative, has a long and vocal history of criticizing presidential overreach, particularly during the tenure of President Barack Obama.But Cruz ended up backing Trump's border wall gambit, yet again underscoring his rock-solid support for the president. He announced his choice with a simple thumbs-down on the Senate floor, even as several other Republican senators defected.Cruz’s decision will have little bearing on the national emergency’s ultimate fate, which will now likely be decided by the courts.Enough Republican senators had already announced their support for the disapproval resolution for it pass, with or without Cruz's backing. Not nearly enough Republican senators, as expected, ended up doing so for it to survive the veto that Trump has said is “100 percent” going to happen.  Continue reading...