The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives are appealing a federal judge’s ruling to not block President Donald Trump from financing a border wall.
Judge Trevor McFadden determined earlier this month that the House didn’t have enough standing to bring the challenge and that the court shouldn’t interfere between the fight between the House and the President.
“The Court declines to take sides in this fight between the House and the President,” McFadden wrote.
“This case presents a close question about the appropriate role of the Judiciary in resolving disputes between the other two branches of the Federal Government. To be clear, the court does not imply that Congress may never sue the Executive to protect its powers,” he added.
McFadden also wrote that lawmakers have more options to fight the President’s decision than the court system. “Congress has several political arrows in its quiver to counter perceived threats to its sphere of power,” he wrote. “These tools show that this lawsuit is not a last resort for the House. And this fact is also exemplified by the many other cases across the country challenging the administration’s planned construction of the border wall.”
The House, along with several other organizations, filed a lawsuit against the President’s national emergency declaration. More than 100 former House members signed a brief that stated, “Rarely in our Nation’s history has the Executive Branch launched such an assault on Congress’s exclusive legislative powers. Without action by this Court to prevent the Administration’s usurpation of congressional authority, the unchecked expansion of the Executive’s power at the expense of the Legislative Branch will threaten our democracy,” the brief said.
The lawsuit claims that Trump’s decision to move funds for the wall went against the Appropriations Clause of the Constitution, which gives Congress power over the designation of federal spending. The House asked McFadden to stop the spending of money transferred for the wall.
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