House has Standing to Challenge Border Wall Funding, DC Circuit Rules
Published by The Lawfare Institute
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A panel of three judges in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit today unanimously ruled that the House of Representatives has standing to challenge President Trump’s reallocation of funds in the federal budget to construct a border wall. House lawmakers initially filed suit in order to challenge the executive’s attempts to transfer “funds appropriated for other uses to finance the construction of a physical barrier along the southern border of the United States, contravening congressionally approved appropriations.”
Judge Trevor McFadden of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia had ruled in June 2019 that the House lacked standing to sue executive branch departments to prevent the government from redistributing federal funds. Today’s D.C. Circuit decision holds that the House can challenge the funding reprogramming under the Appropriations Clause of the Constitution, but not under the Administrative Procedure Act. The case is now remanded to the district court for further proceedings.
You can read the ruling here and below:
