Date Announced

Defense Secretary Mark Esper agrees to divert $3.6 billion from 127 military construction projects to instead fund President Trump's border wall. Half of the $3.6 billion was for construction projects in the United States, and the other half for projects in foreign countries. [ID #427]

Subsequent Action

President Trump plans to divert an additional $7.2 billion in military funding for the construction of a wall on the southern border, according to two people familiar with the plans, as officials rush to show major progress on his signature campaign promise in time for the 2020 election. The money would be stripped from Defense Department construction and counterdrug projects, the officials said, and amounts to even more than the billions the administration transferred from the Pentagon last year to pay for Mr. Trump’s border wall.

Subsequent Action

By a vote of 5-4, the Supreme Court declined to lift a stay that prohibited the federal government from spending certain federal funds on construction while a legal challenge to the wall continues. On Oct. 19, 2020 the Supreme Court grants cert in Sierra Club v. Trump and California v. Trump cases. See SCOTUS Docket No. 20-138. On Feb. 3, 2021, SCOTUS cancelled the upcoming oral argument in a brief order responding to the new administration's request for time to assess "the legality of the funding and contracting methods used to construct the wall."

**Litigation is listed for informational purposes and is not comprehensive. For the current status of legal challenges, check other sources.**

Subsequent Action

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision holding that Section 2808 did not authorize the challenged border wall construction projects.

**Litigation is listed for informational purposes and is not comprehensive. For the current status of legal challenges, check other sources.**

Subsequent Action

In parallel litigation in Texas, the District Court preliminarily enjoined the diversion of military funds to border wall construction. However, a split Fifth Circuit reversed the injunction on appeal, and dismissed the suit for lack of jurisdiction, saying that the plaintiffs lacked standing. According to the majority, neither El Paso County, nor the organization Border Network for Human Rights, had standing to bring the challenge. El Paso County, Texas et al. v. Trump et al., 19-cv-51144, (5th Cir., Dec. 4, 2020).

**Litigation is listed for informational purposes and is not comprehensive. For the current status of legal challenges, check other sources.**

Subsequent Action

The Trump administration has notified Congress that it plans to divert $3.8 billion from the Defense Department's budget to build the border wall. The move drew bipartisan criticism, including from the top Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, Texas Rep. Mac Thornberry.