16 U.S. states sue Trump administration in showdown over border wall funds

[webfact]

U.S. states sue Trump administration in showdown over border wall funds

By Sarah N. Lynch and Jeff Mason

 

FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump declares a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border as he speaks about border security in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, U.S., February 15, 2019. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A coalition of 16 U.S. states led by California sued President Donald Trump's administration on Monday over his decision to declare a national emergency to obtain funds for building awall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

 

The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California came just days after Trump invoked emergency powers on Friday after Congress declined to fulfil his request for $5.7 billion (4.41 billion pounds) to help build the wall that was his signature 2016 campaign promise.

 

His move aims to let him spend money appropriated by Congress for other purposes.

 

"Today, on Presidents Day, we take President Trump to court to block his misuse of presidential power," California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said in a statement.

 

"We’re suing President 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, a Democrat.

 

Three Texas landowners and an environmental group filed the first lawsuit against Trump's move on Friday, saying it violates the Constitution and would infringe on their property rights.

 

The legal challenges could slow down Trump's efforts to build the wall, which he says is needed to check illegal immigration and drug trafficking, but will likely end up at the conservative-leaning U.S. Supreme Court.

 

In a budget deal passed by Congress to avert a second government shutdown, nearly $1.4 billion was allocated towards border fencing. Trump's emergency order would give him an additional $6.7 billion beyond what lawmakers authorized.

 

In television interviews on Sunday and Monday, Becerra said the lawsuit would use Trump's own words against him as evidence there is no national emergency to declare.

 

Earlier, Trump had said he knew that he did not need to declare an emergency to build the wall, a comment that could now undercut the government's legal argument.

 

"Presidents don't go in and claim declarations of emergency for the purposes of raiding accounts because they weren't able to get Congress to fund items," Becerra said on MSNBC.

 

(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch and Jeff Mason; Editing by Tom Brown and Peter Cooney)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-02-19

[Thainesss]

2 minutes ago, webfact said:

California sued President Donald Trump's administration on Monday

 

Imagine my shock. 

[Bluespunk]

13 minutes ago, webfact said:

Presidents don't go in and claim declarations of emergency for the purposes of raiding accounts because they weren't able to get Congress to fund items," Becerra said on MSNBC.

Presidents don’t, however petulant, narcissistic, egomaniacs do. 

[Tug]

Last time I checked 16 states have joined not just California you know the one with the 4 th largest economy on the planet 

[Thainesss]

8 minutes ago, Tug said:

Last time I checked 16 states have joined not just California you know the one with the 4 th largest economy on the planet 

 

They are still part of the republic and their economy doesn't give them special permissions. 

[mikebike]

1 hour ago, Thainesss said:

 

Imagine my shock. 

Joining California and New York are Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon and Virginia.

 

Still "shocked"?

[mikebike]

1 minute ago, Thainesss said:

 

They are still part of the republic and their economy doesn't give them special permissions. 

No, but it does give them the same rights as all other members of the Republic to question and challenge govt decisions which affect them...

[Rimmer]

A post flaming another member has been removed

[neeray]

Trump has certainly created growth in the economy. Not quite the growth area that will MAGA but the lawyers of America are having a good old fashioned field day.

Good on yah Donald. You're the greatest.

[riclag]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

 

"We’re suing President 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, a Democrat.

The roadmap for what lies ahead has but one destination, the Supreme Court,Mr. Becrra  

[metisdead]

Troll posts and the replies have been removed. 

[seajae]

they expect us to believe they worry about the people of the US having to spend their money on a wall when they spend billions on illegals free hospital/medical, free universities etc plus billions on overseas abortions and make US citizens pay for it. They are a total joke especially when the dems already agreed to barriers years ago but never did it. All this is is to make trump look bad for the 2020 election, they are pathetic and the supreme court will sort them all out

 

[bristolboy]

39 minutes ago, seajae said:

they expect us to believe they worry about the people of the US having to spend their money on a wall when they spend billions on illegals free hospital/medical, free universities etc plus billions on overseas abortions and make US citizens pay for it. They are a total joke especially when the dems already agreed to barriers years ago but never did it. All this is is to make trump look bad for the 2020 election, they are pathetic and the supreme court will sort them all out

 

They don't "worry about the people of the US having to spend their money on the wall", they worry about that fact that it was arrived at by a dishonest method. Remember that Trump himself said he was only declaring an emergency to get it done faster.

As for paying for abortions overseas...the Trump administration has put a stop to that. But not only that, but has put a stop to payment for any family planning service overseas that even mentions the abortion option. One of the big reasons that illegal immigration from Mexico has declined so dramatically is the success of family planning there. The administration has ruled it out for those Central American nations which have so many of their people illegally immigrating to the us. You want a real big part of the solution to illegal immigration? If you really do, then support US aid for family planning.

[Emdog]

44 minutes ago, seajae said:

they expect us to believe they worry about the people of the US having to spend their money on a wall when they spend billions on illegals free hospital/medical, free universities etc plus billions on overseas abortions and make US citizens pay for it. They are a total joke especially when the dems already agreed to barriers years ago but never did it. All this is is to make trump look bad for the 2020 election, they are pathetic and the supreme court will sort them all out

 

 You are ignoring basic rule in Constitution: Congress decides on appropriations for specific uses. NOT the president. You may wish to look back to case that got to SC regarding line item veto (which Congress ok'ed). SC ruled unconstitutional (including Thomas). Here is a link to Constitution. You might want to do a read of that http://constitutionus.com/

"...they spend billions on illegals free hospital/medical, free universities etc plus billions on overseas abortions and make US citizens pay for it." Cite your sources. This is whack.

[welovesundaysatspace]

3 hours ago, Thainesss said:

 

They are still part of the republic and their economy doesn't give them special permissions. 

Special permissions like circumventing congress to steal money from the country that was promised to come from Mexico and doesn’t do anything good other than pleasing a minority of far-right fanatics? 

[wwest5829]

3 hours ago, Thainesss said:

 

They are still part of the republic and their economy doesn't give them special permissions. 

Hmmm, last time I checked there are several things still under state government control. Are they not putting greater restrictions on environmental  concerns, than the federal regulations?

[Redline]

2 hours ago, riclag said:

The roadmap for what lies ahead has but one destination, the Supreme Court,Mr. Becrra  

Quoting an earlier decision, Chief Judge Markey wrote: “We are not concerned with their wisdom. The question before the court is one of power, not of policy."

That flagrant abuse of power now has come to pass: Trump has declared an immigration national emergency even though his own government’s data proves that none exists. But while the Supreme Court may find that Trump has the power to hijack those funds to fulfill a campaign promise, Congress can also find that this is an abuse of power warranting his impeachment. Indeed, the Founders envisioned the power of impeachment as the fit remedy if the executive branch usurped congressional power.

There is precedent for this.

President Nixon technically had the power to fire the special prosecutor investigating him, the power to pardon those involved and the power to oversee the FBI and CIA in connection with the Watergate investigation. The existence of his power was not questioned; the abuse of that power, however, was found to be an impeachable offense.

[Redline]

Sounds familiar:

 

Quoting an earlier decision, Chief Judge Markey wrote: “We are not concerned with their wisdom. The question before the court is one of power, not of policy."

That flagrant abuse of power now has come to pass: Trump has declared an immigration national emergency even though his own government’s data proves that none exists. But while the Supreme Court may find that Trump has the power to hijack those funds to fulfill a campaign promise, Congress can also find that this is an abuse of power warranting his impeachment. Indeed, the Founders envisioned the power of impeachment as the fit remedy if the executive branch usurped congressional power.

There is precedent for this.

President Nixon technically had the power to fire the special prosecutor investigating him, the power to pardon those involved and the power to oversee the FBI and CIA in connection with the Watergate investigation. The existence of his power was not questioned; the abuse of that power, however, was found to be an impeachable offense.

[Redline]

5 hours ago, Thainesss said:

 

Imagine my shock. 

Conservative agenda is to give more power to the states

[farcanell]

I’m surprised that the states acted so quickly.... I expected them to wait and see where the monies where being misappropriated from, to crystallize their argument.

 

that said, I’d expect congress to act immediately, as its clear that their position, as keepers of the purse strings, is being undermined.

 

oh well... either way works... popcorn time.

[riclag]

57 minutes ago, Redline said:

Conservative agenda is to give more power to the states

True in many ways, except when it comes to protecting this countries national security.

"Originally conceived as protection against military attack, national security is now widely understood to include non-military dimensions, including the security from terrorism, crime, economic security, energy security, environmental security, food security, cyber security etc. Similarly, national security risks include, in addition to the actions of other nation states, action by violent non-state actors, narcotic cartels, and multinational corporations, and also the effects of natural disasters".

"Governments rely on a range of measures, including political, economic, and military power, as well as diplomacy to enforce national security".

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_security

[smotherb]

5 hours ago, Thainesss said:

 

Imagine my shock. 

Too bad you're shocked. California is only one of the 16 states and they have the brunt of the illegal immigrant problem. Gee, wonder why they are opposed to this FAKE NEWS emergency and using funds legally allotted by congress for purposes not authorized by congress.  

[smotherb]

1 hour ago, Redline said:

Conservative agenda is to give more power to the states

And trump's agenda is to give him authoritarian power.  

[smotherb]

5 hours ago, Thainesss said:

 

They are still part of the republic and their economy doesn't give them special permissions. 

No, California is using US Law instead of trying to circumvent it.

[Thainesss]

14 minutes ago, smotherb said:

Too bad you're shocked. California is only one of the 16 states and they have the brunt of the illegal immigrant problem. Gee, wonder why they are opposed to this FAKE NEWS emergency and using funds legally allotted by congress for purposes not authorized by congress.  

 

California doesnt carry the brunt, they want it because its part of the state model and Democrat long-term plan. More illegals get counted on census's, they get more funds, more representation, more voters, more aid, grants etc. 

 

If it wasnt for Hollywood and Tech (Apple/Facebook Etc) they would be in the hole. 

 

11 minutes ago, smotherb said:

No, California is using US Law instead of trying to circumvent it.

 

Haha yeah right. California flaunts the law and the constitution almost daily. 

[Redline]

40 minutes ago, riclag said:

True in many ways, except when it comes to protecting this countries national security.

"Originally conceived as protection against military attack, national security is now widely understood to include non-military dimensions, including the security from terrorism, crime, economic security, energy security, environmental security, food security, cyber security etc. Similarly, national security risks include, in addition to the actions of other nation states, action by violent non-state actors, narcotic cartels, and multinational corporations, and also the effects of natural disasters".

"Governments rely on a range of measures, including political, economic, and military power, as well as diplomacy to enforce national security".

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_security

True, assuming there was a national security issue here.  Unfortunately, the courts normally don't get involved with Presidential powers, unless they are in blatant disregard of the Constitution.  It is clearly up to the Senate to control the powers of the executive, in this instance.  Every poll suggests the US population is not behind this illusion of an emergency.  Of course, the republicans are nearly all lemmings at this point

[Redline]

23 minutes ago, Thainesss said:

 

California doesnt carry the brunt, they want it because its part of the state model and Democrat long-term plan. More illegals get counted on census's, they get more funds, more representation, more voters, more aid, grants etc. 

 

If it wasnt for Hollywood and Tech (Apple/Facebook Etc) they would be in the hole. 

 

 

Haha yeah right. California flaunts the law and the constitution almost daily. 

Give examples~what you write is nonsense

Back up what you write with facts from reliable sources please...

Looking forward to seeing them

[smotherb]

20 minutes ago, Thainesss said:

 

California doesnt carry the brunt, they want it because its part of the state model and Democrat long-term plan. More illegals get counted on census's, they get more funds, more representation, more voters, more aid, grants etc. 

 

If it wasnt for Hollywood and Tech (Apple/Facebook Etc) they would be in the hole. 

 

 

Haha yeah right. California flaunts the law and the constitution almost daily. 

I am so pleased to hear you know what California thinks.

 

California, like all other border states, does carry the brunt of illegal immigration problems. However, whether or not they make money from the immigrants has nothing to do with Trump defying Congress' authority on funds allocation. 

 

Again, more contard subterfuge, "Hey. look over there . . ." or "Hey, Obama did this . . ." The point is Trump is trying to avoid the American system of checks and balances to get his own way without going through the proper legal channels. But, so what, you Trumpeters think he knows what he is doing. 

 

Doesn't it just make you wonder why he is having such a hard time doing it? Oh, that's right, the laws and most Americans, including members of his own party, are against his actions. 

[Thainesss]

21 minutes ago, smotherb said:

The point is Trump is trying to avoid the American system of checks and balances to get his own way without going through the proper legal channels. But, so what, you Trumpeters think he knows what he is doing. 

 

Spare me the hyperbole. Weve had several presidents that bypass congress all the time and for whatever reason they want but NOW all of a sudden its about the "system of checks and balances". 

 

Your Messiah Obama ruled with "a pen and a phone" and flat out told everyone he was going to legislate outside of congress whenever he could and nobody batted an eye on the left, but when the shoes on the other foot you guys cry foul. 

 

Deal with it. 

 

25 minutes ago, smotherb said:

Doesn't it just make you wonder why he is having such a hard time doing it?

 

Not even in the slightest. Its nothing more than 2 reasons. 

 

1 - Politics. 

 

2 - The lefts thinly veiled desire to change the US electorate with votes from south of the border. They used to at least TRY and mask it but the cats out of the bag for all to see at this point. 

Trump needs to do whatever possible to block the left and their desire to allow foreign meddling in our country by way of illegal immigration. For the sovereignty of our country and the safety of its people, the wasted tax dollars, drug trafficking and on and on. 

[Thomas J]

3 hours ago, welovesundaysatspace said:

Special permissions like circumventing congress to steal money from the country that was promised to come from Mexico and doesn’t do anything good other than pleasing a minority of far-right fanatics? 

"In terms of "stealing money"  It is estimated that illegals "steal" benefits from the USA totaling $116 billion a year.  Consider, an illegal coming in with multiple children not only qualifies for some forms of welfare but their children typically 3 or more get free grade school, and high school education.  Conservatively that is $12,000 per child per year not including any "special" teachers necessary because the children don't speak English.  That also damages the education to the children of U.S. citizens who do speak English because their education is slowed down by having students who can't keep up do to their language difficulties.  Irrespective, there is no inherent right of any person in the world to enter the USA or any other country just because "they want to".  The Democrats are ignoring their duty to protect the USA both from the effects of unrestricted immigration but also illegal drugs.  90% of the drugs come across the Mexico border and 73,000 people in the USA died from drug overdoses last year.  The cartels are also using the inflow of immigrants to aid their drug distribution.  Flooding the border occupies drug enforcement personnel and while they are tending to the caravans of people the cartels move their drugs in using other border entry points.  Every nation has a right to invite into its country people who it deems it wishes to.  A person breaking into your home is not an "uninvited guest"