House lawyers filed a motion Tuesday evening requesting a federal judge block the administration’s plan to use reprogrammed DOD funds for southern border barriers, according to The Hill.
The motion seeks to stop about $6 billion in military construction and counter-drug funds for building President Donald Trump’s long-promised border wall.
“Defendants are moving quickly to construct the border wall, and they have awarded contracts against funds that Congress did not appropriate for that purpose,” House General Counsel Doug Letter wrote with other lawyers. “And more contracts are coming soon. Once made, these unconstitutional expenditures cannot be undone, and the grave institutional injury inflicted on the House cannot be remedied.”
The motion argues the president violated the Constitution when he sidestepped congressional authority in directing reallocation of funds in his February emergency declaration.
The Army Corps of Engineers, which handles most of the barrier contracts, has moved to award up to $8 billion in DOD funds, according to a Quartz report.
The Department of Homeland Security has moved forward with using DOD funds for barriers in Arizona and New Mexico, Military Times reported Tuesday.
 
Customs and Border Protection photo by Nicholas Robbs