Hartford, CT – Attorney General William Tong issued the following statement regarding the 2-1 decision by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals finding that the Trump Administration unlawfully diverted $2.5 billion in military funding for construction of the border wall.

“The 9th Circuit got it right—Donald Trump ignored Congressional intent and unlawfully diverted billions of dollars in taxpayer funds intended for the Defense Department for a useless vanity project. The border wall was never more than a campaign slogan meant to rile up the most cruel and hateful of Trump’s xenophobic base. Today is a big win for the rule of law and separation of powers, but this fight is in no way over. We are ready, willing and able to defend our democratic principles before the Supreme Court,” said Attorney General Tong.

Connecticut is part of a coalition of 20 states including California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawai’i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin suing to block the Trump Administration’s unauthorized construction of the border wall, and any illegal diversion of Congressionally-appropriated funds.

Last July, the U.S. Supreme Court lifted a preliminary injunction and allowed construction of the border wall to proceed while litigation continued, but the highest court has yet to rule on the merits of the case.

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