Trump confident he’ll prevail in border emergency lawsuit
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Tuesday expressed confidence that he would prevail in a lawsuit filed by 16 states seeking to overturn his declaration of a national emergency at the U.S.Mexico border, saying the states are led “mostly by Open Border Democrats and the Radical Left.”
Trump insisted to reporters Tuesday that he had an “absolute right” to declare an emergency and said that it is an “open and closed case” that he can use the declaration to circumvent Congress to fund longsought barriers at the border.
In tweets earlier in the day, Trump incorrectly said the lawsuit was brought by cities, rather than states. He corrected the error about an hour later.
Trump also noted that he had predicted during an event in the Rose Garden last week that an action would be brought in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, where courts have often ruled against the administration.
“As I predicted, 16 cities, led mostly by Open Border Democrats and the Radical Left, have filed a lawsuit in, of course, the 9th Circuit!” Trump wrote.
Trump is seeking to spend roughly $8 billion on border barrier construction, only about $1.4 billion of which has been approved by Congress. He plans to tap money from other funds, including drug-interdiction and military construction projects.
The lawsuit filed Monday argues that the president’s decision to declare a national emergency is unconstitutional. It seeks a preliminary injunction that would prevent Trump from acting on his declaration while the case plays out in the courts.
It was brought by 16 states, all of which have Democratic governors, except for Maryland. Under Maryland law, the state’s attorney general can take legal actions without the blessing of the governor. Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh, whose name is in the complaint, is a Democrat who has sued the Trump administration over other policy issues.
In addition to California and Maryland, the states participating in the suit are Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon and Virginia.
The complaint was filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, a San Franciscobased court whose judges have ruled against an array of other Trump administration policies, including on immigration and the environment. The court is part of the 9th Circuit.
The president also delved into foreign policy Tuesday.
He said he wants to see North Korea give up its nuclear weapons program, but added that he’s not in any rush because U.S. relations with Pyongyang are good going into next week’s summit. “I have no pressing time schedule,” Trump said.
Trump said his second meeting with Kim Jong Un on Feb. 27-28 in Hanoi, Vietnam, would be “very exciting,” but did not disclose details of what he hoped would be achieved.
He said he discussed the upcoming summit during a phone call earlier in the day with South Korea President Moon Jae-in and will speak Wednesday with Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Trump noted that North Korea has not tested any rockets or missiles or nuclear weapons in months.
“As long as there’s no testing, I’m in no rush. If there’s testing, that’s another deal.”