Appeals court rules Trump cannot use military funding for the border wall

Shealah Craighead/White House

A federal appeals court ruled on Friday that the Trump administration cannot use money that Congress appropriated for military use for construction of the southern border.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel found in a 2-1 ruling, that the transfer $2.5 billion Congress approved would be “unlawful” and against the constitution.

The move comes after a long legal battle over the wall, as trump declared a national emergency at the border in February 2019. The Supreme Court allowed $2.5 billion to be spent as the legal proceedings continued, as well as a $3.6 billion from the Pentagon after an appeals court in New Orleans ruled could be spent.

The Trump administration "lacked independent constitutional authority to authorize the transfer of funds," the ruling said. "These funds were appropriated for other purposes, and the transfer amounted to 'drawing funds from the Treasury without authorization by statute and thus violating the Appropriations Clause.' Therefore, the transfer of funds here was unlawful."

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, who sued the Executive Branch commended the ruling.

"Today, the court reminded the president — once again — that no one is above the law," Becerra said. "We applaud the court for taking action to immediately halt Trump's unlawful money grab."