Trump can't divert military funds for border wall, federal appeals court says

The Trump administration doesn't have the authority to divert Pentagon funds to construct additional barriers on the US-Mexico border, a federal appeals court ruled Friday, days after President Donald Trump's visit to a section of the wall in Arizona. In a 2-1 ruling, the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals said that the transfer of $2.5 billion circumvented Congress, which holds the authority to appropriate money. The legal fight over Defense Department funds stems from Trump's national emergency declaration on the US-Mexico border last year. Trump extended the declaration this past February, even as border arrests began to decline. While Friday's ruling is a win for the environmental groups and states challenging the use of military funds, a Supreme Court stay, issued last year that allows the funds to be used, remains in effect for the time being. Last summer, the Supreme Court cleared the way for the Trump administration to use $2.5 billion from the Pentagon to construct parts of a wall along the southwestern border. The decision allowed the Defense Department money to be spent now while the court battle played out over whether the government had the authority to divert funds that were not appropriated for the wall. The Supreme Court voted 5-4, along ideological lines, to allow the funds to be used while the court appeals proceed...MORE