WASHINGTON, March 26 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. House of Representatives failed on Tuesday to override President Donald Trump's veto of a congressional resolution blocking his declaration of a national emergency at the nation's southern border with Mexico.

The lower chamber, controlled by Democrats, voted 248-181, short of the two-thirds majority needed for an override.

The national emergency declaration, which Trump made last month in a bid to get funding for the construction of a border wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, would allow the president to shift billions of U.S. dollars from military construction projects to fulfilling his signature campaign promise.

Congress sent a resolution to the White House this month terminating the emergency declaration, which Trump vetoed almost immediately.

Various legal challenges, meanwhile, are underway against the emergency declaration.

Democrats argued that there is no national emergency at the border, accusing Trump of overstepping his authority by circumventing Congress for the border wall funding, while some Republicans were also uneasy that the president's actions may set a bad precedent.

The Pentagon announced Monday that it has authorized the transfer of 1 billion dollars for the construction of the border wall, drawing sharp criticism from Democratic lawmakers.

The fight over the funding of the border wall between the White House and congressional Democrats led to a record-breaking 35-day federal government shutdown, which ended late January.