SACRAMENTO – (INT) – California is leading a 16-state coalition challenging President Trump’s declaration of a national emergency and his attempt to divert funding appropriated by Congress for other purposes.

A lawsuit was filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

In the complaint, the coalition alleges that the Trump Administration’s emergency declaration and diversion of funds is unconstitutional and otherwise unlawful.

The states seek to block the Trump Administration’s emergency declaration, the unauthorized construction of the border wall, and any illegal diversion of Congressionally-appropriated funds.

“President Trump is manufacturing a crisis and declaring a made-up 'national emergency' in order to seize power and undermine the Constitution,” said Governor Gavin Newsom.

Story Date: February 21, 2019