USSC overrules 9th Circuit Court on wall funding!

BREAKING: Supreme Court rules in favor of wall funding

The vote was 5-to-4, with the more conservative justices prevailing. The majority said that the plaintiffs, assorted environmental groups, likely had no cause of action to bring the case.

 

Justice Breyer said that he would allow the government to finalize contracts that depend on the funding but not yet begin construction.

The ruling effectively reverses the Ninth Circuit, which had blocked the administration from touching the money on the grounds that Congress had consciously denied President Trump wall funding. While Friday’s decision isn’t technically on the merits, it is, in practice, a big win for Trump, since there will be no way to “unspend” the money once construction begins.

Obviously the court doesn't make this decision unless they believe that the Trump Administration has a better than average chance to beat this thing on it's merits when the time comes. The fact that Breyer seemed to agree (to some degree) with the conservative members doesn't leave much hope for the resistance to ultimately prevail.

The legal reality is that the President quite literally followed the law to a "T" on this one. The "legal" grounds for bringing the suit only prevail if you quite literally ignore the law written by Congress that allows for a President to do this, and has a congressional legislative means to overrule him. That cannot be stressed enough.

The law is 100% on his side.

The argument from others is that he is going against Congress (which he is) and that he is spending money that Congress doesn't want him to spend (which he is). But none of that Trumps the fact that a President (any President) can issue an emergency based on his or her personal call. The law does not provide for any judicial review to the President's decision (as much as some Judges would like to do it anyways). The law allows for the funds to be moved at the discretion of the President. He doesn't need permission and it doesn't require the move to be popular with Congress.

The law quite literally allows the President to bypass Congress. Period.

Congress went to court once before (pre-Trump) in an attempt to change the review of this to allow for a simple majority in both chambers to overrule the President. The Judge told them if they didn't like the law, then they needed to repeal or amend it. The Courts were not going to change it for them.