Zippyjuan
07-04-2019, 11:31 AM
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-48869710
US President Donald Trump has again been thwarted in his attempt to use military money to fund his wall along the border with Mexico.
On Saturday, he lodged an appeal against a ruling by a judge blocking him from using defence department funds for anti-drug activities.
But a panel of the US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the freeze, saying it was up to Congress to allocate funds.
Mr Trump declared a national emergency over the wall earlier this year.
He said he needed $6.7bn (£5.3bn) to it as a matter of national security.
Building the wall was a major election campaign promise.
Two of the three-judge panel in San Francisco agreed with the lower court's decision.
"As for the public interest, we conclude that it is best served by respecting the Constitution's assignment of the power of the purse to Congress, and by deferring to Congress's understanding of the public interest as reflected in its repeated denial of more funding for border barrier construction," the two judges wrote in their ruling.
In May, federal judge Haywood Gilliam temporarily blocked the use of defence department funds because it had not been approved by Congress.
About 20 states, along with groups including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), have filed lawsuits to try to stop the president using the emergency declaration to bypass Congress.
The border wall has been a major political battle for the president.
In February, Congress approved $1.38bn for the construction of "primary pedestrian fencing" along the Rio Grande Valley in Texas - far less than Mr Trump had sought.
His declaration of a national emergency was designed to unlock multi-billion dollar funding for the wall, including $2.5bn from the department of defence and $3.6bn from military construction projects.
That sum is still considerably short of the estimated $23bn cost of the barrier along almost 2,000 miles (3,200km) of border.
The House of Representatives is also taking legal action to stop the diversion of funds for the wall project.
Rand Paul objected to Trump trying to use other funds for the wall.
https://www.npr.org/2019/03/03/699835862/rand-paul-says-hell-vote-against-trump-s-border-emergency-likely-forcing-a-veto
Rand Paul Says He'll Vote Against Trump's Border Emergency, Likely Forcing A Veto
Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky says he'll vote in favor of a resolution to terminate President Trump's national emergency declaration with regards to the U.S.-Mexico border. Paul's support means the resolution will likely pass the Senate with bipartisan support and could force the president to issue his first veto.
Paul's announcement, coming from an-otherwise close ally of the president, lays bare the discomfort many Republicans have had with the emergency declaration.
"I can't vote to give extra-Constitutional powers to the president," Paul told Republican supporters and lawmakers at a dinner at Western Kentucky University on Saturday, The Bowling Green Daily News reports.
On Tuesday, the Democratic-controlled House voted 245-182 to approve the resolution. Only 13 Republicans joined Democrats to end Trump's emergency declaration.
The Senate is expected to vote later this month on the House resolution. Paul joins three Senate Republicans — Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Thom Tillis of North Carolina — who have already said they will vote with Democrats in opposition to the president's actions. With Republicans holding just 53 Senate seats, those defections mean the resolution will likely pass.
Trump has previously said that he would veto the measure.
"I can't vote to give the president the power to spend money that hasn't been appropriated by Congress," Paul said. "We may want more money for border security, but Congress didn't authorize it. If we take away those checks and balances, it's a dangerous thing."
More at link.
US President Donald Trump has again been thwarted in his attempt to use military money to fund his wall along the border with Mexico.
On Saturday, he lodged an appeal against a ruling by a judge blocking him from using defence department funds for anti-drug activities.
But a panel of the US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the freeze, saying it was up to Congress to allocate funds.
Mr Trump declared a national emergency over the wall earlier this year.
He said he needed $6.7bn (£5.3bn) to it as a matter of national security.
Building the wall was a major election campaign promise.
Two of the three-judge panel in San Francisco agreed with the lower court's decision.
"As for the public interest, we conclude that it is best served by respecting the Constitution's assignment of the power of the purse to Congress, and by deferring to Congress's understanding of the public interest as reflected in its repeated denial of more funding for border barrier construction," the two judges wrote in their ruling.
In May, federal judge Haywood Gilliam temporarily blocked the use of defence department funds because it had not been approved by Congress.
About 20 states, along with groups including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), have filed lawsuits to try to stop the president using the emergency declaration to bypass Congress.
The border wall has been a major political battle for the president.
In February, Congress approved $1.38bn for the construction of "primary pedestrian fencing" along the Rio Grande Valley in Texas - far less than Mr Trump had sought.
His declaration of a national emergency was designed to unlock multi-billion dollar funding for the wall, including $2.5bn from the department of defence and $3.6bn from military construction projects.
That sum is still considerably short of the estimated $23bn cost of the barrier along almost 2,000 miles (3,200km) of border.
The House of Representatives is also taking legal action to stop the diversion of funds for the wall project.
Rand Paul objected to Trump trying to use other funds for the wall.
https://www.npr.org/2019/03/03/699835862/rand-paul-says-hell-vote-against-trump-s-border-emergency-likely-forcing-a-veto
Rand Paul Says He'll Vote Against Trump's Border Emergency, Likely Forcing A Veto
Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky says he'll vote in favor of a resolution to terminate President Trump's national emergency declaration with regards to the U.S.-Mexico border. Paul's support means the resolution will likely pass the Senate with bipartisan support and could force the president to issue his first veto.
Paul's announcement, coming from an-otherwise close ally of the president, lays bare the discomfort many Republicans have had with the emergency declaration.
"I can't vote to give extra-Constitutional powers to the president," Paul told Republican supporters and lawmakers at a dinner at Western Kentucky University on Saturday, The Bowling Green Daily News reports.
On Tuesday, the Democratic-controlled House voted 245-182 to approve the resolution. Only 13 Republicans joined Democrats to end Trump's emergency declaration.
The Senate is expected to vote later this month on the House resolution. Paul joins three Senate Republicans — Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Thom Tillis of North Carolina — who have already said they will vote with Democrats in opposition to the president's actions. With Republicans holding just 53 Senate seats, those defections mean the resolution will likely pass.
Trump has previously said that he would veto the measure.
"I can't vote to give the president the power to spend money that hasn't been appropriated by Congress," Paul said. "We may want more money for border security, but Congress didn't authorize it. If we take away those checks and balances, it's a dangerous thing."
More at link.