Court sides with Trump over wall
A federal appeals court ruled Friday that a lower court was wrong to bar the Trump administration from taking $3.6 billion from military construction projects for a border wall.
A panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said that El Paso County and the nonprofit Border Network for Human Rights did not have the standing to challenge President Donald Trump’s redirecting funds from more than 100 military construction projects, including a $20 million road project at a base located in the city.
The appeals court found that neither the county nor the Border Network proved it was directly harmed by Mr. Trump’s move. The court reversed a December 2019 ruling by U.S. District Judge David Briones.
Mr. Trump took roughly $6 billion from military funds under a national emergency he declared in early 2019 after Congress refused to fully fund his demands for wall funding, leading to the longest government shutdown in history.
President-elect Joe Biden has pledged to end that national emergency, although the Trump administration has locked in construction contracts with the funding and already built many new stretches of wall across the southwest border.
Pentagon installs 2 Trump allies
The Pentagon has appointed two close allies of President Donald Trump, Corey Lewandowski and David Bossie, to a defense advisory board, continuing a post-election purge in the final weeks of the administration.
The acting secretary of defense, Christopher Miller, who was installed by Mr. Trump on Nov. 9 after he fired then-Defense Secretary Mark Esper, said in a written statement Friday that nine members of the Defense Business Board had been replaced with the appointment of 11 new members.
Mr. Lewandowski and Mr. Bossie are among Mr. Trump’s most vocal supporters.
The nine other appointees are Henry Dreifus, Robert McMahon, Cory Mills, Bill Bruner, Christopher Shank, Joseph Schmidt, Keary Miller, Alan Weh and Earl Matthews.
Fugitive killed, 2 marshals shot
A fugitive who shot a Massachusetts state trooper in the hand during a traffic stop two weeks ago was killed early Friday during a gunfight with U.S. marshals in New York City that left two of the officers wounded.
The two deputy marshals injured in the 5:30 a.m. confrontation in the Bronx were treated at a hospital and were expected to recover.
Killed in the shootout was 35-year-old Andre Sterling, officials said. He was wanted for shooting the Massachusetts trooper on Nov. 20.
Mr. Sterling had been sought in the shooting of a 28-year-old trooper during a late-night traffic stop in Hyannis, on Cape Cod.
Trooper John Lennon was hospitalized after a round went through his right hand. Trooper Lennon was released from the hospital several days later.