California to sue over emergency declaration

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gavin Newsom said Friday that California was planning to sue the Trump administration over its declaration of a national emergency on the southern border with Mexico, delivering on a promise state Attorney General Xavier Becerra made last week “to reject this foolish proposal in court the moment it touches the ground.”

Newsom and Becerra announced they were developing plans for the legal action at a Capitol news conference just hours after President Donald Trump declared a national emergency in an attempt to divert up to $6.6 billion from other projects, including military construction jobs, to build or reinforce as many as 234 miles of border barriers.

“Fortunately, Donald Trump is not the last word,” Newsom said. “The courts will be the last word.”

Newsom called the wall “a vanity project, a monument to stupidity,” and said the real emergency was the wildfire disaster that needed federal funds.

“No other state is going to be impacted by this declaration of emergency more than the state of California,” the governor said.

Becerra said attorneys were reviewing the declaration and would develop the legal argument to take to court in the near future.

“No one in America is above the law, not even the president of the United States,” Becerra said. “He can’t do this because the U.S. Constitution gives Congress, not the president, the powers to direct dollars, the powers of the purse.”

Becerra said he was talking to other states about joining in a legal challenge.

Asked about the timing of a federal lawsuit, Becerra said: “We’ll be ready soon.”

Trump said the action was needed after Congress blocked his efforts to get significant funds for the wall.

“We’re going to confront the national security crisis on our southern border,” the president said Friday at the White House.

In his Spanish-language response to the president’s State of the Union address last week, Becerra said he was prepared to go to court. Newsom and Becerra repeated their warning of legal action on Thursday, saying in a joint statement that “the president’s ‘national emergency’ is nothing more than a fabrication while real emergencies are awaiting his action. If the president tries to use a made up emergency to pay for his border wall, then California will see him in court.”

The lawsuit would be the 46th legal challenge filed by Becerra against the Trump administration, and California has had a mixed record of success.

On Monday, a federal appeals court rejected a legal challenge by California that attempted to stop rebuilding of some sections of the existing U.S.-Mexico border wall, ruling that the Trump administration did not exceed its authority when it waived environmental regulations for projects near San Diego.

Becerra defended his record of suing the Trump administration, saying his successes have included a decision

by the U.S. Supreme Court this week to hear a challenge to the Trump administration plan to add a citizenship question to the U.S. Census.