The Trump administration declared a major victory on Friday night, when the Supreme Court ruled that funds designated for the Pentagon can be used to build a wall on the US southern border. The White House can now tap $2.5 billion in Defense Department money to replace existing sections of barrier in Arizona, California and New Mexico with more robust fencing, according to an AP report.
Edited by: JV Staff
In a 5-4 decision, the nation’s highest court lifted the freeze on the money that was imposed by lower courts as a lawsuit over the finds proceeded. Coming as no surprise, the five conservative justices on the court voted in favor of unfreezing the billions in Pentagon Funds, while the four liberal judges including Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan all voted against lifting the freeze.
Trump tweeted after the announcement: “Wow! Big VICTORY on the Wall. The United States Supreme Court overturns lower court injunction, allows Southern Border Wall to proceed. Big WIN for Border Security and the Rule of Law!” According to an AP report, the justices’ decision to lift the freeze on the money allows President Trump to forge ahead on a major 2016 campaign promise heading into his race for a second term
The Supreme Court’s action reverses the decision of a trial court, which initially froze the funds in May, and an appeals court, which kept that freeze in place earlier this month, according to the AP report.
The case the Supreme Court ruled in began after the 35-day partial government shutdown that started in December 2018. Trump ended the shutdown in February after Congress gave him approximately $1.4 billion in border wall funding. But the amount was far less than the $5.7 billion he was seeking, and Trump then declared a national emergency to take cash from other government accounts to use to construct sections of wall, as was reported by the AP.
The money Trump identified includes $3.6 billion from military construction funds, $2.5 billion in Defense Department money and $600 million from the Treasury Department’s asset forfeiture fund, according to the AP report.
The case before the Supreme Court involved just the $2.5 billion in Defense Department funds, which the administration says will be used to construct more than 100 miles (160 kilometers) of fencing. One project would replace 46 miles (74 kilometers) of barrier in New Mexico for $789 million. Another would replace 63 miles (101 kilometers) in Arizona for $646 million. The other two projects in California and Arizona are smaller.
Alexei Woltornist, a spokesman for the Justice Department, said in a statement, “We are pleased that the Supreme Court recognized that the lower courts should not have halted construction of walls on the southern border. We will continue to vigorously defend the administration’s efforts to protect our nation.”
ACLU lawyer Dror Ladin said after the court’s announcement that the fight “is not over.” The case will continue, but the Supreme Court’s decision suggests an ultimate victory for the ACLU is unlikely. Even if the ACLU were to win, fencing will have already been built.
The Supreme Court is on break for the summer but does act on certain pressing items.
