Connecticut and 15 other states are suing the Trump administration over the president’s use of a national emergency declaration to fund a border wall.
Attorney General William Tong, (D-Conn.) said that the administration’s move will fund the wall’s construction by diverting money away from other important projects.
“He said ‘I’m going to target military construction money, I’m going to target drug interdiction money, I’m going to target drug forfeiture money’ – millions of dollars that Connecticut relies on, along with 15 other states -- and I would say probably a lot more than the 16 that have already filed suit -- rely on that money,” Tong said.
Tong didn’t provide more details on what specific projects or funding could be impacted.
“I’ve made the strategic decision to plead our case as filed because I don’t want to give the President of the United States a roadmap to undermine our case.”
President Donald Trump dismissed the lawsuit in a tweet sent out Tuesday afternoon. He characterized it as a ploy by “open-border Democrats.”
As I predicted, 16 states, led mostly by Open Border Democrats and the Radical Left, have filed a lawsuit in, of course, the 9th Circuit! California, the state that has wasted billions of dollars on their out of control Fast Train, with no hope of completion, seems in charge!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 19, 2019
On the other side, the plaintiffs in the lawsuit say there’s no real national emergency happening at the southern U.S. border and that, by making the declaration, the president skirted around Congress’ refusal to pay for the wall. They believe that’s an unconstitutional act.
Tong called the declaration by Trump an “unprecedented presidential temper tantrum.”
Copyright 2019 Connecticut Public Radio
