trump's declaration of a national emergency was condemned by democrats as unconstitutional; u.s. speaker of the house nancy pelosi and senate minority leader chuck schumer called the declaration an affront to the rule of law that was "a lawless act, a gross abuse of the power of the presidency and a desperate attempt to distract from the fact that president trump broke his core promise to have mexico pay for his wall." some republicans also criticized trump's declaration, fearing the circumventing congress would set a dangerous precedent for the future. congress passed a joint resolution to terminate the national emergency, but it was vetoed by trump in his first veto.