A Clinton-appointed judge has blocked a substantial amount of funding from Trump’s border wall.
The judge ruled that several billion dollars in defense funds cannot be used for the border wall.
According to The Daily Caller:
A federal judge dealt the White House a major blow Tuesday, ruling that the administration cannot use several billion in military funding to pay for border wall construction.
David Briones, who has served on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas since his appointment by former President Bill Clinton in 1994, ruled Tuesday that the Trump administration cannot use billions in military funds to pay for physical barriers along the U.S.-Mexico wall.
“After due consideration, the Court is of the opinion that a declaratory judgment and permanent injunction shall be granted in Plaintiffs’ favor,” Briones wrote in the court ruling.
The decision regards a lawsuit brought by Border Network for Human Rights, an immigration-rights organization, and El Paso County, Texas. The plaintiffs argued that President Donald Trump overstepped his authority when he declared an emergency at the southern border earlier in 2019, allowing him to reallocate more funds for the border wall on top of the $1.375 billion Congress had just appropriated for construction at the time.
Jared Kushner is now leading the administration’s efforts to build 400 miles of the border wall by 2020. This would add to the 83 miles of the border fence that has been completed in a replacement capacity.
