A coalition of 16 states bound together to sue Trump over national emergency
16 US states led by California have sued US president Donald Trump and top members of his administration on Monday, blocking his decision to declare a national emergency to fund a US- Mexico border wall.
The lawsuit filed in US District Court for the Northern District of California came after Trump invoked emergency powers on Friday to help build the wall that was his signature 2016 campaign promise.
The order would re-appoint money that congress appropriated for other purposes to help build the wall. It comes after Congress had declined Trump's request for $5.7 billion to help build the wall.
States announce lawsuit against Trump on Presidents Day
The 16 states announced the lawsuit on Presidents Day. California Attorney general Xavier Becerra said in a statement ‘Today on presidents day we take President Trump to court to block his misuses of presidential power,’ Becerra said.
Becerra said, that California and 16 other states were suing Trump to stop him from unilaterally “robbing taxpayer funds lawfully set aside by Congress for the people of our states.”
‘For most of us, the office of the presidency is not a place for theatre,’ added Becerra. The White House has not yet commented on the filing.
In addition to the $1.4 billion allocated toward border fencing, in a budget deal passed by Congress to avert a second government shutdown, Trump's emergency order would give $6.7 billion to build the border wall.
California lead the the lawsuit with states like Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Virginia, and Michigan coming on board.
In television interviews on Sunday and Monday, Becerra said the lawsuit would use Trump's own words against him as evidence.
‘By the president’s own admission, an emergency declaration is not necessary,’ the states said in the lawsuit.
‘The federal government’s own data prove there is no national emergency at the southern border that warrants construction of a wall.’ They said.
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