President Donald Trump’s laid-back reaction to an internal rebellion against his move to redirect billions in military construction funds for his border wall stands in stark contrast to some of his previous policy defeats. | Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images National Emergency Trump makes low-energy push to halt GOP border revolt The president is doing little to stem Republican defections on his national emergency declaration.

President Donald Trump is taking a surprisingly low-key approach to a bipartisan rebuke on his border wall and the first likely veto of his presidency.

At least for now, Trump is doing little to try and dissuade the approximately dozen Republican senators who are considering voting to block his national emergency declaration on the southern border, according to Republican senators and aides.


Despite previous warnings that GOP lawmakers could put themselves in “great jeopardy” by defying him, wavering senators said Trump is not directly lobbying them to stick with him. And White House officials are making only modest efforts to turn things around on Capitol Hill, taking a hands-off approach to an imminent rebuke on the Senate floor this month.

The president took the news that he was officially headed for a defeat in stride, said Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who spoke to the president on Sunday after he announced he would become the deciding vote against Trump.

“He says he understands where I’m coming from. And he didn’t tell me we would never play golf again. So, I think we’re OK,” said Paul, among the senators closest to Trump. “It’s not like I sat up one day and said: ‘Where do I want to separate myself from President Trump.’ There are political risks to separating yourself from your party’s president.”

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Paul added that 10 or “possibly more” senators would ultimately vote against Trump next week on the House-passed resolution of disapproval. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). acknowledged on Monday that Trump will lose the vote, but the House will not be able to override the president's veto.

Trump’s laid-back reaction to an internal rebellion against his move to redirect billions in military construction funds for his border wall stands in stark contrast to some of his previous defeats, particularly the party’s failure to repeal Obamacare. Even after Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) died last year, Trump still occasionally grouses about his 2017 vote against repeal.

But because of Trump’s veto threat and the slim odds of overriding him, it’s likely to be the courts rather than Congress that derails the emergency declaration. And even though the president could face a sizable GOP revolt, he appears comfortable pitting himself against Senate Democrats and a bloc of his own party.

“I really think the president appreciates the politics of this and is not nearly concerned enough about the policy,” said one GOP senator who is undecided and has not heard from the president directly. “Taking on Washington is his major political moment.”

GOP concerns on the emergency generally stem not from opposition to the wall itself, but toward the precedent he may set for future Democratic presidents to declare a national emergency and shift billions around for their more liberal policy priorities.

Most in the party support his moves to grab dollars from the Treasury and Defense departments, but some are drawing the line at using national emergency powers to give himself money that Congress clearly rejected during the government shutdown fight.

Such a split in the GOP over tariffs or health care has drawn volcanic presidential reactions on Twitter and in speeches. But as the March vote approaches, Trump is choosing to lay off Republicans that are defying him, though that’s always subject to change.

“I don’t see that that helps any,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) of tweets targeting fellow Republicans. “But that doesn’t mean you won’t see any.”

The White House knows eight to 12 senators have raised concerns about the national emergency declaration – either the legal and constitutional ramifications, or the potential from diverting money from military construction funds to build the border wall. The White House press office did not respond to a request for comment.

Senior administration aides and Trump allies have long expected that some Republicans will balk at supporting the emergency declaration and say what’s key is that Trump is seen as fighting ahead of the 2020 campaign. “The president just needs to show he is trying and that he is checking all of those boxes,” said one Republican close to the administration. “You can’t say he didn’t try from a re-election standpoint.”

The steps the White House is taking to hold back defections are modest at best.

Zach Parkinson, a White House communications official told GOP press staffers on Monday that they hoped senators who will support the disapproval resolution will withhold their criticism for as long as they can, according to two people who attended the meeting.

Vice President Mike Pence made the administration’s case last week, answering questions from several of the president’s internal critics on the emergency issue at a party lunch, though he is not planning on attending Tuesday’s lunch because he is traveling.

Fresh off his trip to the Middle East, Jared Kushner, one of the other key negotiators with Congress, is focused on finalizing his peace proposal for that region. Although Kushner was spotted on Capitol Hill on Monday, it was not to discuss the national emergency declaration with any senators, said one White House aide.

“They’re very much pushing it, or they wouldn't be up here talking to the caucus. So, I wouldn’t say the president isn’t interested in converting people to his point of view,” said Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who is leaning against voting for the disapproval resolution.

Grassley said he was going to join an effort by Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and other conservative senators who want to change the law governing national emergency declarations, which some hope to attach to the simple disapproval resolution passed by the House. That change would set a 30-day clock on all emergency declarations, and require a majority vote from Congress to continue the emergency rather than forcing Congress to muster veto-proof majorities to disapprove of them. Senators said it was still unclear whether the resolution of disapproval can be amended.

Any administration outreach this week to win over reluctant senators will come from lawyers at the Department of Justice, who are making themselves available to individually meet with senators worried about the legal ramifications. The administration hopes the lawyers from Justice can mollify some undecided senators.

“My request to the White House was all the legal authorities that they see in that. They’re trying to make their case on that and I’m trying to listen,” said Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.), another on-the-fence Republican. But, he added: “I haven’t talked to [Trump] directly.”

Lankford joined Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) in asserting that Trump is on safe legal and political ground in seeking about roughly $4 billion in non-emergency funds to pair with the $1.3 billion given to him by Congress to build border fencing, which would allow Trump to accelerate construction of a border barrier without it getting bogged down in the courts for months, if not years.

Alexander took to the floor last week to urge the White House to re-examine those authorities and not force the Senate to shoot down his disapproval resolution. On Monday, Alexander said he had received no response to his ask.

Paul said it was clear through his conversation with Trump on Sunday that there's little chance of Trump backing down.

“He’s made his decision,” Paul said. “That doesn’t mean I won’t continue to be one of his greatest supporters.”