Federal judge in Texas blocks Trump's move to construct a border wall with military funds

On Tuesday, a federal judge in El Paso, Texas blocked President Donald Trump's national emergency plan authorizing the military to divert funds from defense construction to build a wall at the Mexican border, ruling that the president does not have the legal authority to use the funds for that purpose.

The ruling, issued by Judge David Briones of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, ruled in favor of El Paso County, Texas, and the Border Network for Human Rights, blocking Secretary of Defense Mark Esper's authorization of $3.6 million in military construction funds for 11 border wall projects.

Trump's broader national emergency, first declared in early 2019, is still in effect, and the border construction may proceed with other funds not at issue in the lawsuit, including the counter-drug and Treasury Forfeiture Funds, and a separate military funding source that was greenlit by the Supreme Court for use at the border in June.