President Donald Trump is facing challenges on Capitol Hill and in the courts over his emergency declaration, which would let him transfer funds from other construction accounts to pay for his long-desired wall along the border between the U.S. and Mexico.

Trump wanted Congress to appropriate $5.7 billion for the barrier, but in a fiscal 2019 spending bill enacted Feb. 15, lawmakers provided only $1.375 billion, limited to “pedestrian fencing” such as steel bollards.

总统在2月26日遭受了挫折,当时民主控制的众议院正如预期的那样,批准了一项措施,以使他的宣言无效。投票是245-182。十三位共和党人确实投票赞成这项立法,但利润率没有覆盖预期的特朗普否决所需的三分之二。

到3月中旬,共和党人持有多数席位的参议院预计将采取类似的立法。在EN新利18备用R发稿时,索尔(Salsies)表明该账单将获得足够的共和党支持,尽管可能不是通过否决权边距。

至少有一些为隔离墙支付的资金,如果要建造的话,可能来自已经计划的军事建设项目。新利18备用网址联邦法律授予国防部长在国家紧急情况下进行军事建设项目的广泛酌处权。新利18备用网址2月27日,众议院拨款小组委员会负责监督军事建设的证词,助理国防部长罗伯特·麦克马洪(Robert McMahon)表示,国防部正在寻求确定可用于资助与宣布紧急情况相关的隔离墙和相关项目的建筑项目。新利18备用网址

他在准备的证词中说:“该部门不在考虑任何家庭住房项目中作为资金来源。”新利18备用网址此外,他说,国防部将寻求补充资金,以支付墙壁支付的任何项目。新利18备用网址

但是美国总裁兼首席执行官史蒂芬·桑德尔(Stephen Sandherr)感到不安。AGC担心,在计划过程中为DOD建设项目分配了分配的拨款可能会使承包商付出代价。新利18备用网址

In a Feb. 21 letter to acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan, Sandherr said that contractors can spend millions of dollars preparing bids for a solicitation, and he urged DOD to “avoid reprogramming or transferring funds from contracts long under consideration or—most critically—actively under solicitation.”

Meanwhile, court challenges to Trump’s action are proliferating. Attorneys general from 15 states with Democratic governors, plus Maryland, whose governor is a Republican, on Feb. 18 filed a lawsuit in a federal court in California objecting to Trump’s move and the attempt to use funds appropriated by Congress for other purposes to build the wall.

两天前,生物多样性和动物法律辩护基金野生动植物的捍卫者以类似的理由在哥伦比亚特区联邦地方法院宣布特朗普的宣言。

此外,倡导集团公民公民于2月15日代表Frontera Audubon协会和三名南德克萨斯州土地所有者提起诉讼。

AGC总法律顾问迈克·肯尼迪(Mike Kennedy)说,那些期望任何法院做出彻底决定的人可能会感到失望。肯尼迪说,可能用来证明政府案件合理的法规中的许多语言都是模棱两可的,并且没有建立法律来澄清总统的权威是什么。

“I think the courts will make as narrow a ruling as they can make,” Kennedy says. “You’re going to see courts carefully parsing legislative language.”

The environmental groups contend that the border wall would harm wildlife that lives in the vicinity of the border, particularly species whose habitat bisects the border, says Jason Rylander, senior counsel with Defenders of Wildlife.

赖兰德说,诉讼人正在寻找将资金分配的位置以及如何分配的清晰图表。他说:“政府对将要使用什么钱以及何时使用的钱做出了许多相互矛盾的陈述。”他指出,尚未使用近10亿美元用于建造边界围栏的拨款。

Trump invoked the National Emergencies Act and immigration law in his Feb. 15 declaration. Presidents have declared at least 58 states of emergency since the emergencies law went on the books more than 40 years ago. Most relate to sanctions or export restrictions. The recent lawsuits contend the president lacks authority to use the emergency declaration to circumvent the will of Congress to pay for the wall using funds Congress appropriated for other purposes.