Sixteen states on Monday filed a federal lawsuit challenging President Trump’s national-emergency declaration to pay for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, setting up a showdown with the administration that could go to the Supreme Court and last through the 2020 election.
The complaint, filed in California’s Northern District, seeks judicial intervention to stop the order and accuses Trump of “flagrant disregard for the separation of powers.” The suit claims that the president’s move undermined Congress by redirecting federal money—some of which was intended for states—toward the wall.
“President Trump has veered the country toward a constitutional crisis of his own making,” the lawsuit said.
California led the lawsuit and was joined by Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon and Virginia—all of which have Democratic attorneys general and all but one of which are led by Democratic governors.
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