A federal judge just ruled that the Biden administration cannot divert funds specifically earmarked for construction of a border wall under Trump.
Biden wanted to use this money for other things, of course.
That doesn’t mean Biden should finish the wall, and of course he won’t. But it also means that he won’t be able to touch the funds.
The Washington Times reports:
Judge orders Biden to stop diverting border wall money
A federal judge on Friday rejected the Biden administration’s plans to divert money from border wall construction to other projects such as environmental cleanup, ruling that it appears to violate the law.
Judge Drew B. Tipton said Congress decides how to spend the money, and when it wrote its spending bills for fiscal years 2020 and 2021 it allocated nearly $1.4 billion each year for wall construction. The president trampled on him when he decided to spend the money to build the wall on “reclamation projects.”
The government said it should have leeway to spend the money and argued that the cleanup projects are incidental to the wall and should be allowed.
Judge Tipton, however, said the way Congress wrote the law was quite specific in saying the money should go to barriers along the border.
“The central issue here, then, is this: has the government committed funds for fiscal year 2020 and fiscal year 2021 for the “construction of [a] barrier system? The answer is largely no,” the judge concluded.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton commented on Twitter/X:
Today I obtained a preliminary injunction against an attempt by the Biden administration to illegally redirect legally mandated funds away from the construction of a border wall. Biden acted completely improperly by refusing to spend the money allocated by Congress… https://t.co/MGBJD2nOya
– Attorney General Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) March 9, 2024
This is great news.
BREAKING: A new court order has been obtained barring President Biden from using $1.4 billion in funds earmarked for border wall construction on unrelated projects until the border is secured. pic.twitter.com/0PbdtMw3g3
— Patrick Webb (@RealPatrickWebb) March 9, 2024
BREAKING: In 2020, Congress passed a bill @POTUS to finish President Trump’s border wall.
We just got a court order stopping him from illegally using your taxpayer money for domestic projects while the border remains open.
Biden must use the funds to complete the border wall
– Attorney General Andrew Bailey (@AGAndrewBailey) March 8, 2024
This does not solve the border crisis, but it is a positive development. At least the funds will still be there.