Democratic control of the House won't produce much legislation in a divided Washington. But it has already produced a fundamental shift in political leverage, writes John Harwood.
President Donald Trump can veto a resolution blocking his border emergency declaration. If it clears the Republican-led Senate on Thursday, Democrats lack the votes to override him.
During the first half of Trump's term, Republicans at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue protected each other. Congress shielded the president from oversight; House and Senate leaders shielded their members from casting politically perilous votes. Speaker Nancy Pelosi has signaled the House may ultimately eschew an impeachment battle as divisive and politically counterproductive. But she has the ability to regularly squeeze Trump and his fellow Republicans under any scenario.
Even if none of those measures wins so much as a Senate floor vote, they create a record for Democratic candidates in 2020 campaigns for Congress and the White House alike. Democrats began reaping political dividends immediately after winning their House majority last November. With undivided GOP control about to run out, Trump pressed his demand for border wall funding that Republicans earlier sidetracked.
Senators have to vote on it because the law governing emergency declarations requires it once a resolution of disapproval passes the House. McConnell can shield his caucus from many difficult votes; not this one.
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