The administration asked the Supreme Court Friday to lift lower court rulings halting President Trump’s border wall emergency, asking to be allowed to begin construction while the case proceeds through those lower courts.
Justice Department lawyers say the lawsuits should be tossed, arguing those who sued don’t have standing to bring the cases in the first place, and besides, they insisted, the administration followed the law in shifting billions of dollars from Pentagon spending to wall construction.
The lawyers said the case is an emergency of sorts, saying the money the Pentagon wants to shift is only available this fiscal year, which ends in three months. They said the high court needs to weigh in now in order to grant access to that money.
The request comes a day after Mr. Trump caved on another legal battle to try to force a citizenship question onto the 2020 census.
The wall, if anything, is an even bigger symbol for the president as he heads into his reelection campaign.
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11.29.2024