Trump issues first veto on bill to block his border wall national emergency

Trump sought an end-run around lawmakers to use $3.6 billion in Pentagon construction funds for the border wall after Congress refused to provide more than $1.4 billion

President Donald Trump issued his first veto Friday, rejecting Congress’s effort to cancel his declaration of a national emergency to pay for a wall on the US-Mexico border, a centerpiece of his 2016 campaign.

“Congress passed a dangerous resolution that, if signed into law, would put countless Americans in danger,” Trump said just before signing the veto in the Oval Office, where he was joined by family members of crime victims and law enforcement officials.

The measure -- which cleared the Senate with support from a dozen Republicans -- dealt a political setback to the president by seeking to block his effort