The Friday ruling said the administration’s efforts to redirect Pentagon funds violated the Constitution.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals handed President Donald Trump another rebuke Friday by ruling that the administration’s efforts to redirect previously appropriated Pentagon funds towards his border wall was an unlawful violation of the Constitution.
“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,’” wrote Chief U. S. Circuit Judge Sidney Thomas in the majority opinion.” Therefore, the transfer of funds here was unlawful.”
According to the 2 to 1 decision authored by Thomas, “the border wall was not an unforeseen military requirement, and that funding for the wall had been denied by Congress. Absent such statutory authority, the Executive Branch lacked independent constitutional authority to transfer the funds at issue here.
