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Trump National Emergency Declaration Heading to Court, Here's What to Expect Next

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WASHINGTON – The battle over border security is heading to court after 16 states filed a lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump's national emergency declaration.

Lawmakers plan to put the brakes on the commander in chief's plan to free up funds to construct a wall along America's southern border.

The lawsuit was filed Monday in the US District Court for Northern California – joining the Golden State was Colorado, Illinois, New York, New Jersey and a handful of other states.

They argue in the complaint that "the president lacks power under the Constitution to allocate funds for constructing a wall along the border because Congress retains the spending power." In addition, they called President Trump's national emergency "made up."

In the recent budget deal passed by Congress, lawmakers agreed to $1.4 billion in border barrier's to avoid another partial government shutdown.

However, President Trump said that's not enough, noting that emergency declaration allows him to tap into funding from other government agencies to the tune of $8 billion.
 
He says the barrier will stop the influx of illegal drugs, gangs and human traffickers from crossing into the country.

Speaking to reporters in the White House Rose Garden last week, he predicted a legal battle over his efforts to lock down money to protect the southern border.

"We will have a national emergency and then we will be sued and then it will end up in the 9th Circuit and we will get a bad ruling," he said. "And then it will end up in the Supreme Court and, hopefully, we will get a fair shake and we will win in the Supreme Court."

Meanwhile, John Malcolm of the Heritage Foundation weighed in on just what the legal fight over Trump's national emergency declaration will look like. He predicted there won't likely be enough votes in Congress to override a veto.

"There will clearly be a majority in the House that will support a joint resolution," he told CBN News' "Faith Nation." "There might be a majority in the Senate, but I think that's probably doubtful, too."

"There might be a majority in the Senate to pass a joint resolution to nullify the president's declaration. The president would veto this in all likelihood. And I don't see the votes there – 2/3 in the House and Senate to override that veto," he continued.

In the final analysis, Malcolm cautiously suggests it's possible the president will be successful in his bid for a wall.

"Yes, at the end of the day I predict he likely will (win) in a court of law, but you know, I'm not a betting man and I wouldn't place any bets on this."

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About The Author

Ben
Kennedy

Ben Kennedy is an Emmy Award-winning White House correspondent for CBN News in Washington, D.C. He has more than a decade of reporting experience covering breaking news nationwide. He's traveled cross country covering the President and scored exclusive interviews with lawmakers and White House officials. Kennedy spent seven years reporting for WPLG, the ABC affiliate in Miami, Florida. While there he reported live from Kingston, Jamaica, as Hurricane Matthew hit the island. He was the first journalist to interview Diana Nyad moments after her historic swim from Cuba to Key West. He reported