News / Politics

Appeals court reverses ruling against Trump taking military money for border wall

Saturday, 05 December 2020 7:03 PM [ Last Update: Saturday, 05 December 2020 7:03 PM ]

This file photo shows people looking through the border fence between Ciudad Juarez and El Paso, United States, as Mexican asylum seekers take part in a bi-national Mass in support of asylum seekers in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, February 15, 2016. (by Reuters)

A federal appeals court has reversed a judge ruling blocking an attempt by US President Donald Trump to reallocate Pentagon's money on a border wall.

Last December, US District Judge David Briones blocked Trump’s attempt to spend $3.6 billion from the US military budget to build a wall on the US-Mexico border.

US judge blocks Trump from using $3.6 billion in Pentagon money on border wall

A federal judge on Tuesday blocked the Trump administration from spending some Defense Department money to build a border wall with Mexico.

However, a federal appeals court ruled on Friday that the lower court was wrong to bar the Trump administration from redirecting military construction money for the 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 Trump's decision to redirect military construction funds.

The appeals court found that neither the county nor the Border Network could prove that Trump’s move had directly caused them harm.

The court reversed the December 2019 ruling by Judge David Briones, giving the Pentagon permission to use the funds to build or enhance the border wall.