Two Republican attorneys general secured a legal win on Friday in their effort to block the Biden administration from redirecting federal funds designated for build a border wall.
Attorney General Ken Paxton of Texas and Attorney General Andrew Bailey of Missouri were granted a preliminary injunction from U.S. District Judge Drew Tipton to block the Biden administration from using funds appropriated by Congress for a border wall for other purposes.
“Today, I secured a preliminary injunction against an attempt by the Biden Administration to illegally redirect statutorily obligated funds away from the construction of a border wall,” Paxton posted to X on Friday. “Biden acted completely improperly by refusing to spend the money that Congress appropriated for border wall construction, and even attempting to redirect those funds. His actions demonstrate his desperation for open borders at any cost, but Texas has prevailed.”
The case focused on roughly $1.4 billion that was appropriated by Congress in 2020 and 2021 for the construction of a border wall. President Joe Biden issued an order on the day he was inaugurated pausing the funds from being used for that purpose, and the Department of Homeland Security subsequently came up with two plans for alternative ways to use the money.
The Biden administration was then sued separately by the Texas Land Commission and the states of Missouri and Texas before the case was consolidated under one lawsuit. The plaintiffs asked for an injunction to stop the implementation of Biden’s “proclamation and to order DHS to obligate the funds that have been congressionally appropriated for the construction of a barrier system at the Southwest border,” Tipton wrote.
“DHS argues in response that, notwithstanding the language in the statute, an injunction would be inappropriate because the challenged spending decisions are committed to its discretion,” Tipton added. “The Court disagrees. Whether the Executive Branch must adhere to federal laws is not, as a general matter, an area traditionally left to its discretion. And without that discretion, DHS’s spending decisions run afoul of the APA [Administrative Procedures Act].”
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Tipton ordered the Biden administration to stop its plan to allocate the funds for any other purpose than the construction of physical barriers like additional wall, fencing, or buoys.
“The Biden Administration has failed to abide by the law to finish the construction of a wall along the southwest border,” Bailey said. “Joe Biden refuses to carry out his constitutionally mandated responsibilities, so we took him to court to force him to do his job. This is a huge step forward in the fight to secure our border at a key moment in our nation’s history.”