Trump Takes Aim At California On Twitter Over Border Emergency Lawsuit
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- President Donald Trump fired off two social media salvos aimed at California Tuesday after the state took the lead in a lawsuit challenging his declaration of a national emergency along the border with Mexico.
Leading a 16-state coalition, California filed a lawsuit Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California challenging Trump's declaration of a national emergency and his attempt to divert funding appropriated by Congress for other purposes.
In the complaint, the coalition alleges that the Trump Administration's emergency declaration and diversion of funds is unconstitutional and otherwise unlawful.
On Tuesday, Trump tweeted: "As I predicted, 16 states, led mostly by Open Border Democrats and the Radical Left, have filed a lawsuit in, of course, the 9th Circuit! California, the state that has wasted billions of dollars on their out of control Fast Train, with no hope of completion, seems in charge!"
He then followed with: "The failed Fast Train project in California, where the cost overruns are becoming world record setting, is hundreds of times more expensive than the desperately needed Wall!"
Other states joining California in the lawsuit were Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawai'i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, and Virginia.
In a news release announcing the lawsuit, California Gov. Gavin Newsom continued his war of words with the President.
"Our message to the White House is clear: California will not be part of this political theater," he said. "We will see you in court."
The states alleges in the lawsuit that the Trump administration's action exceeds the power of the executive office, violates the U.S. Constitution and federal statutes, and would illegally and unconstitutionally divert federal funds appropriated by Congress for other purposes. The suit seeks declaratory and injunctive relief to block the emergency declaration, the construction of the wall, and any illegal diversion of congressionally-appropriated funds.
