US states sue Donald Trump over emergency declaration

A coalition of 16 US states is suing Donald Trump's administration over his decision to declare an emergency to raise funds for a Mexican border wall.

The joint lawsuit, which is led by California, comes days after the US President invoked emergency powers to bypass Congress and secure funding for the project. CNN says fighting the suit in court will “likely be difficult”.

Filed in Federal District Court in San Francisco, the lawsuit argues that the president does not have the power to divert funds for constructing a the wall because it is Congress that controls spending.

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California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said the aim of the legal action against Trump is “to block his misuse of presidential power”. He added: “For most of us, the office of the presidency is not a place for theatre.”

According to the Washington Post, the suit seeks a preliminary injunction that would prevent Trump acting on his emergency declaration while a legal battle takes place in the courts.

The states joining California in the lawsuit are Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Virginia and Michigan. They argue that Trump's order to divert funds to pay for the wall would cost them millions of dollars, damaging their economies.

This is not the only legal grief Trump is facing over over his national emergency declaration. Over the weekend, the Center for Biological Diversity, Border Network for Human Rights and the American Civil Liberties Union also announced lawsuits.

Trump had already accepted that he would be sued for the emergency order, and forecast that his move would lead to legal action which was likely to end up in the Supreme Court. Building a Mexican border wall was a key pledge in his 2016 campaign.